Anti-government rebels in northern Syria have launched a sudden offensive in an effort to capitalize on Israel’s efforts to weaken Iran’s regional proxies.

Syrian rebels in the last opposition enclave in northern Syria launched on Wednesday a wide-scale military operation against the Syrian army and seized territory in the first such advance in years, army and rebel sources said.

Syrian rebel fighters launched their first major offensive in four years against government positions near Aleppo, claiming to have advanced several miles and captured a string of villages.