Home World Israel strikes in Damascus as Syrian forces clash with Druze groups

Israel strikes in Damascus as Syrian forces clash with Druze groups

Smoke rise from clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias in Sweida city, southern Syria on Tuesday.

Smoke rise from clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias in Sweida city, southern Syria on Tuesday. Omar Sanadiki/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Omar Sanadiki/AP

DAMASCUS, Syria — Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its involvement, saying it’s in support of the Druze religious minority.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said that it struck near the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus. Israel has launched a series of airstrikes on convoys of government forces in southern Syria since the clashes erupted and has beefed up forces on the border, saying that it is acting to protect the Druze.

Syria’s Defense Ministry had earlier blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in the Druze-majority province.

Sponsor Message

“Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes,” the statement said.

A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria’s longtime despotic leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. Since then, the country’s new rulers have struggled to consolidate control over the territory.

The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities. The fears of minorities increased after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks in which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed.

Reports of killings and looting in Druze areas

The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community.

Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed with the Druze, while reports have surfaced of members of the security forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, looting and burning civilian homes.

Sponsor Message

No official casualty figures have been released since Monday, when the Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The U.K.-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces.

The observatory said at least 21 people were killed in “field executions.”

The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

Israel threatens to scale up its intervention

In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country’s new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli army “will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday night that Israel has “a commitment to preserve the southwestern region of Syria as a demilitarized area on Israel’s border” and has “an obligation to safeguard the Druze locals.”

Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Assad’s fall, saying it doesn’t want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Must Read

Photos of a starving baby in Gaza shocked the world. Here’s how he’s doing now

Hidayat Al-Motawaq holds her 18-month-old son Mohammad in their tent in the Gaza Strip, Aug. 3. Anas Baba/NPR hide caption toggle caption Anas Baba/NPR GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — You likely have seen the images: an emaciated Palestinian baby boy, lying limp in his mother's arms. The pictures are of 18-month-old Mohammad Al-Motawaq and his

Greetings from Gujarat, India, where a banyan tree is a place for rest, prayers and play

Diaa Hadid/NPR Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world. Banyan trees are my constant companion as I travel in India. These trees sprawl out, sending down roots that grow from their branches like ropes that children swing on. In

Hiroshima survivors fear rising nuclear threat on the 80th anniversary of atomic bombing

A visitor lights incense sticks at the Peace Memorial Park ahead of the memorial service to mark the 80th anniversary of the WWII U.S. atomic bombing in Hiroshima, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in Japan. Louise Delmotte/AP hide caption toggle caption Louise Delmotte/AP HIROSHIMA, Japan — Hiroshima on Wednesday marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S.

A Famous Palestinian Activist Killed in the Occupied West Bank

A photo of Palestinian activist Awdah Al Hathaleen, who witnesses say was killed by an Israeli settler, hangs in the entrance to his home in the village of Umm al-Khair, West Bank, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. Julia Frankel/AP/AP hide caption toggle caption Julia Frankel/AP/AP A Palestinian activist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other

Witkoff in Moscow for peace talks. And, the Voting Rights Act faces new threats

Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today's top stories U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow and is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin today.