Israel hits Syrian troops in Druze city of Sweida after violent clashes
Damascus had been warned by Israel against sending troops and armour to the south, closer to its border, which Israel wants to turn into a demilitarised zone. It has also said it would not allow any harm to the Druze, a minority with a sizeable population in Israel, alongside Syria and Lebanon.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement he had instructed the military to intervene to 'prevent harm to the Druze in Syria' and to police the demilitarisation zone, which Damascus had not agreed to.
The Israeli military said it had targeted several tanks and armoured vehicles in the airstrikes.
Syria's foreign ministry said that it held Israel fully responsible for the latest attacks and any consequences. In a statement, the ministry said that it would protect all Syrian citizens without exception, including the Druze.
Syrian government forces had begun deploying in the city on Tuesday after an agreement with Druze religious leaders to end some of the deadliest fighting in Syria since March, when the new government put down an insurrection by another minority, the Alawis that ended in massacres of civilians.
But as they started to enter the city, a leading Druze leader recanted a statement welcoming them, saying he had been forced to issue it under duress, and called for 'resistance'. The government later agreed to withdraw its soldiers and replace them with a police force.
The latest violence began with clashes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes, which involved government forces. Syria's interior ministry said at least 30 people were killed but a Syrian monitoring group put the toll at 116.
On Sunday Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings and escalating unrest.
In Israel, dozens of Druze held protests in various locations demanding the government do more to intervene and support their brethren, blocking roads and torching car tires in some instances.
Some protesters were believed to have crossed the border with Syria. Israel's military posted on X that their 'troops are currently working to safely return the civilians' home.
Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.
The Druze make up about 1 per cent of Israel's population, but many hold senior positions in the military and police.
Israel had taken a hardline stance on the new government, which is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebels into overthrowing the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
It had warned Sharaa against sending forces to the south, nearer to its border, and conducted several airstrikes against his troops, saying it wanted to protect the Druze in the south. However, it has also held talks with his government on security arrangements after its troops took over a buffer zone and more territory in Syria after Assad's overthrow.
Amichai Chikli, Israel's diaspora affairs minister, called for Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay', accusing the Syrian leader on both his English and Hebrew X accounts of being a 'terrorist, a barbaric murderer'.
Sharaa has struggled to impose the central government's authority on the country, which was riven by a decade-long and increasingly sectarian civil war under Assad, who hailed from the Alawi minority.
In March, Syrian troops and allied militia were accused of massacring hundreds of Alawis after insurrectionists killed several dozen soldiers, raising concerns among the Druze, who have refused to come under the new government's authority.
Sharaa, however, received a boost from President Trump two months later, after Trump agreed to meet in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and lift all sanctions on the country. Trump also rescinded a US terrorism designation against Sharaa and his former rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
In northern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 people, including seven Syrians who were in a displaced people's camp, the Lebanese news agency reported. The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah targets in the area as it tries to prevent the militia from rearming and regrouping after a war last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
34 minutes ago
- Sky News
Why has Trump just called his own supporters 'stupid'?
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 Trump scrambles to try and fire the chair of America's central bank - despite being constitutionally barred from sacking him without just cause. All of this feels like distraction and obfuscation from the Epstein files debacle - a political crisis that is eating MAGA alive. Plus: tensions are flaring in the Middle East once again. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is urging de-escalation between Israel and Syria. If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@ You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Syria's interim president says protecting Druze a 'priority'
DAMASCUS/CAIRO, July 17 (Reuters) - Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting Druze citizens and their rights is "our priority", as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria. In his first televised statement after powerful Israeli air strikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Sharaa addressed Druze citizens saying "we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party". "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," he said. He added that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened. Israel's airstrikes blew up part of Syria's defence ministry and hit near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw. The attacks marked a significant Israeli escalation against Sharaa's Islamist-led administration. They came despite his warming ties with the U.S. and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel. Describing Syria's new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has said it will not let them move forces into southern Syria and vowed to shield the area's Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze minority. The U.S. said the fighting would stop soon. "We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media. The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday to address the conflict, diplomats said. "The council must condemn the barbaric crimes committed against innocent civilians on Syrian soil," said Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon. "Israel will continue to act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders, anywhere and at any time." The Syrian Network for Human Rights said 169 people had been killed in this week's violence. Security sources put the toll at 300. Reuters could not independently verify the tolls. Reuters reporters heard warplanes swoop low over the capital Damascus and unleash a series of massive strikes on Wednesday afternoon. Columns of smoke rose from the area near the defence ministry. A section of the building was destroyed, the ground strewn with rubble. An Israeli military official said the entrance to the military headquarters in Damascus was struck, along with a military target near the presidential palace. The official said Syrian forces were not acting to prevent attacks on Druze and were part of the problem. "We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold," said Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief of staff. Sharaa faces challenges to stitch Syria back together in the face of deep misgivings from groups that fear Islamist rule. In March, mass killings of members of the Alawite minority exacerbated the mistrust. Druze, followers of a religion that is an offshoot of Islam, are spread between Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Following calls in Israel to help Druze in Syria, scores of Israeli Druze broke through the border fence on Wednesday, linking up with Druze on the Syrian side, a Reuters witness said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was working to save the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border. The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed. Israeli Druze Faez Shkeir said he felt helpless watching the violence in Syria. "My family is in Syria - my wife is in Syria, my uncles are from Syria, and my family is in Syria, in Sweida, I don't like to see them being killed. They kicked them out of their homes, they robbed and burned their houses, but I can't do anything," he said.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Syrian government and Druze minority leaders announce new ceasefire as Israeli strikes continue
Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel. Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria 's interior ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement. The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push Islamic militants away from its border. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel as well as in Syria and are seen in Israel as a loyal minority, often serving in the military. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. The violence appeared to be the most serious threat yet to efforts by Syria's new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted longtime despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war. Interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, in footage on state television early Thursday, called the Druze an integral part of Syria and denounced Israel's actions as sowing division."We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities," he said, specifically addressing Druze people in Syria. "We reject any attempt — foreign or domestic — to sow division within our ranks. We are all partners in this land, and we will not allow any group to distort the beautiful image that Syria and its diversity represent." He said Israel sought to break Syrian unity and turn the country into a theater of chaos but that Syrians were rejecting division. He said Syrians did not fear renewed war but sought the path of Syrian interest over destruction. "We assigned local factions and Druze spiritual leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in (Sweida), recognizing the gravity of the situation and the need to avoid dragging the country" into a new war, he said. Syria's new, primarily Sunni Muslim, authorities have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities, especially after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed. No official casualty figures have been released for the latest fighting since Monday, when the Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, eight women and 165 soldiers and security forces. Israel has launched dozens of strikes targeting government troops and convoys heading into Sweida, and on Wednesday struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters next to a busy square in Damascus that became a gathering point after Assad's fall. That strike killed three people and injured 34, Syrian officials said. Another Israeli strike hit near the presidential palace in the hills outside Damascus. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said after the initial Damascus airstrike in a post on X that the "painful blows have begun."Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders, saying it doesn't want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Mr Kats 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." An Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations said the army was preparing for a "multitude of scenarios" and that a brigade, normally comprising thousands of soldiers, was being pulled out of Gaza and sent to the Golan Heights. Syria's defence ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating the ceasefire agreement reached Tuesday. Reports of attacks on civilians continued to surface, and Druze with family members in the conflict zone searched desperately for information about their fate. In Jaramana, near the Syrian capital, Evelyn Azzam, 20, said she feared that her husband, Robert Kiwan, 23, was dead. The newlyweds live in the Damascus suburb, but Kiwan commuted to Sweida for work and was trapped there when the clashes erupted. Ms Azzam said she was on the phone with Mr Kiwan when security forces questioned him and a colleague about whether they were affiliated with Druze militias. When her husband's colleague raised his voice, she heard a gunshot. Mr Kiwan was then shot while trying to appeal."They shot my husband in the hip, from what I could gather," she said, struggling to hold back tears. "The ambulance took him to the hospital. Since then, we have no idea what has happened." A Syrian Druze from Sweida living in the United Arab Emirates said her mother, father and sister were hiding in a basement in their home near the hospital, where they could hear the sound of shelling and bullets outside. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear her family might be targeted. She had struggled to reach them, but when she did, she said, "I heard them cry. I have never heard them this way before." Another Druze woman living in the UAE with family members in Sweida, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a cousin told her that a house where their relatives lived had been burned down with everyone inside it. It reminded her of when the Islamic State extremist group attacked Sweida in 2018, she said. Her uncle was among many civilians there who had taken up arms to fight back while Assad's forces stood aside. He was killed in the fighting. "It's the same right now," she told The Associated Press. The Druze fighters, she said, are "just people who are protecting their province and their families. "The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of 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. Videos surfaced on social media of government-affiliated fighters forcibly shaving the mustaches of Druze sheikhs and stepping on Druze flags and pictures of religious clerics. Other videos showed Druze fighters beating captured government forces and posing by their bodies. AP reporters in the area saw burned and looted houses. The observatory said at least 27 people were killed in "field executions."Druze in the Golan gathered along the border fence to protest the violence against Druze in Syria. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington is "very concerned" about the Israel-Syria violence, which he attributed to a "misunderstanding," and has been in touch with both sides in an effort to restore calm.
