“It’s the same playbook that they used with Hezbollah: Let’s eradicate the top leadership,” said Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.

to sustain public support he needs to show the military operation is a success and ensure it doesn’t become a protracted conflict, analysts say.