Israel bombed an area close to the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, describing the strikes as a warning to the Syrian regime amid reports of escalating violence against Syria’s Druze minority.
A joint statement from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz said Israel would protect members of the Syrian Druze community from attack. “We will not allow [Syrian] troops to deploy south of Damascus or pose any threat to the Druze community,” the statement said.
Israel has escalated military operations in Syria since rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, with bombings across the country and ground forces entering its southwest, while calling for Syria to remain decentralised and isolated.
It has framed its stance around its suspicion toward interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once headed a branch of al-Qaeda, and the desire to protect the Druze community.
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An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson had said on Thursday night that military forces were ready to prevent hostile elements from entering Druze towns in southern Syria.
[ Syria’s largely secular Druze community drawn into sectarian conflictOpens in new window ]
Thousands of Israeli Druze protesters blocked roads across northern Israel on Thursday night, demanding that the government intervene on behalf of the Syrian Druze population. A demonstration also took place in Caesaria, close to Mr Netanyahu’s private villa.
Spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif called on the Druze citizens of Israel to show restraint and not to disrupt public order.
Hundreds of Druze who serve in the IDF also sent a letter to Mr Netanyahu and Mr Katz demanding that Israel come to the aid of the Druze in Syria.
The Israeli air strikes followed days of clashes between Sunni Muslim and Druze gunmen in Druze-majority areas south of Damascus. Scores of people were reportedly killed in sectarian fighting. The clashes appear to have been triggered by a fake recording on social media, in which a Druze leader purportedly vilifies the Prophet Muhammad.
On Wednesday, Israel targeted what it termed “extremists” who, it claimed, were planning attacks on Druze communities.
Syrian opposition media and local sources reported that several Druze-populated villages came under sustained attack on Thursday night and residents returned fire using mortar shells.
The Syrian government has denied involvement, blaming “outlaw groups not affiliated with the ministry of defence or the security apparatus” for the violence.
As international condemnation of the attacks mounted, Syrian information minister Hamzah al-Mustafa wrote that Syria remains “a homeland for all,” calling for inclusive national dialogue and rejecting incitement and misinformation.
Earlier this week, three Syrian Druze civilians were evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment and IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir instructed the army to “prepare to strike targets belonging to the Syrian regime should the violence against Druze communities continue”.
The Druze religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam and has unique customs and beliefs. Half of its roughly one million followers live in Syria, where they make up about 3 per cent of the population. There are smaller communities in Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights.
The Druze community in Israel enjoys full citizenship and serves in the IDF. Recently, Druze notables from Syria have been allowed to visit Druze communities in northern Israel for the first time, and plans are being drawn up to allow Druze from Syria to cross into Israel to work.
Syria’s transitional president, Mr Sharaa, promised to protect the country’s religious and ethnic minorities following the overthrow of Assad’s regime in December after 13 years of brutal civil war.
However, attacks against Alawite communities have caused concern among other minorities that the new regime may not be able or willing to protect non-Shia minorities. – Additional reporting: Reuters
