Israel strikes Damascus military HQ as fighting between Syrian forces and Druze continues
Date: 14:32 BST
Title: Who are the Druze?
Content: The Druze faith is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs.
They have historically occupied a precarious position in Syria's political order. Half its roughly one million followers live in Syria, where they make up about 3% of the population, while there are smaller communities in Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
Earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned he would not "tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria" from the country's new security forces.
He also demanded the complete demilitarisation of much of the south, saying Israel saw Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as a threat.
Update:
Date: 14:27 BST
Title: Nine injured in Damascus strikes - Syrian health ministry
Content: Nine people have been injured as a result of Israeli strikes in Damascus, according to a preliminary assessment just released by the Syrian heath ministry.
Update:
Date: 14:25 BST
Title: Syria condemns Israeli attacks in south as 'criminal and illegal'
Content: The Syrian government has not yet responded to this round of Israeli strikes, but a few hours ago it condemned what it calls Israel's "criminal and illegal behaviour" in the south of the country.
In a statement, the Syrian presidency called the ongoing fighting between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes unacceptable under any circumstances and contradictory to their principles.
Israel has recently begun intervening in the conflict, saying it is doing so to protect the minority Druze community from attacks.
The statement added that they will affirm their "full commitment" to investigating all the related incidents and will not allow those responsible to go unpunished.
The government said that it places the highest priority on "protecting security and stability" throughout Syria, and that justice is the standard by which they operate.
It concluded by reassuring the people of Suweida - a predominantly Druze city - that their rights will always be protected and that they will not allow anyone to influence their security or stability.
Update:
Date: 14:21 BST
Title: Smoke rises over Damascus following Israeli strikes
Content: We can see smoke rising above Damascus, following a new round of Israeli strikes on Syria's capital.
It appears the principal target was Syria's defence ministry headquarters, as confirmed by an Israeli statement and local media reports.
Update:
Date: 14:16 BST
Title: IDF says it struck Syrian regime's military HQ
Content: We can now bring you an update from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who say its forces have struck the entrance of the Syrian government's military headquarters in the capital Damascus
In a post shared on X, the IDF says it "continues to monitor developments and the regime's actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria".
It goes on to say that on orders from Israeli politicians, the IDF is "striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios".
Update:
Date: 14:05 BST
Title: Israel defence minister: 'Warnings have ended and painful blows to come'
Content: Shortly after Israeli strikes on Damascus began, Israel's defence minister shared a statement of intent on social media.
"The warnings in Damascus have ended - now painful blows will come," Israel Katz writes.
Katz says the Israeli military will "continue to operate forcefully" in Suweida, the area of southern Syria where Israel has recently intervened in clashes between the minority Druze community and other armed groups.
He then speaks directly to the Druze community in Israel, saying the Israel Defense Forces will protect the Syrian Druze population.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu and I, as Minister of Defence, have made a commitment - and we will uphold it," he adds.
Katz also shared a video of a live TV news broadcast, showing a building in Damascus being hit by a strike and the on-air newsreader ducking for cover.
Update:
Date: 14:03 BST
Title: Israel strikes Damascus as Syrian attacks intensify
Content: Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Syria, including on the capital Damascus, as it says it is intervening in support of the minority Druze community - who are engaged in an ongoing conflict with other Syrian armed groups.
Defence Minister Israel Katz has shared video of a live news broadcast which shows a direct hit on a Damascus building.
We will be bringing you the latest updates from Syria here, stay with us.
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Spectator
23 minutes ago
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I fear for the Druze
Over 500 people are estimated to have been killed in the ongoing sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin populations in Syria's southern Suweida province this week. Vowing to protect the local Druze, and backing the community's militia, Israel has bombed Syrian government forces around Suweida and launched missiles on Damascus. While Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised to safeguard the minority community, and has announced the withdrawal of troops from the area, his government forces have been directly involved in attacks against the Druze. Druze civilians have been indiscriminately killed in 'field executions' by Syrian government forces and their allies. A militia affiliated with the government have also been looting and burning homes, and have been recorded forcibly shaving the moustaches of Druze men in line with Salafi Islamist dictates. Radical Islamists have vowed a 'jihad against Druze' in recent weeks. An Arab esoteric religious community that evolved from the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, the Druze self-identify as a distinct religious group. There are significant numbers of Druze in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Roughly half of the around one million global Druze population live in Syria, the vast majority of them in Suweida's Jabal al-Druze region. The Druze have been dubbed heretics by radical members of both Shia and Sunni sects of Islam, who deem many of the community's beliefs, such as theophany and reincarnation, as sacrilege against Islam. From the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, to the Sunni Ottoman Empire, multiple regimes have sought to cleanse the Druze. Al-Sharaa's al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) follows the jihadist ideology rooted in the teachings of 13th century Salafi theologian Ibn Taymiyya, who called the Druze the 'most deviant infidels', urging that their property be seized, women enslaved and the men 'killed whenever they are found.' Killings of Druze civilians, and clashes between sectarian militia in the region, have increasedsince the HTS toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime in December. The Israeli Druze community, up to 80 per cent of whom enlist in the Israeli Defence Forces, have urged their country's leadership to safeguard their besieged brethren in southern Syria. Even the Druze population of the occupied Golan Heights, many of whom have refused Israeli citizenship, has welcomed Israeli action in Syria. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, has been requesting international intervention for weeks, insisting 'Israel is not the enemy'. But where Benjamin Netanyahu has justified Israeli airstrikes in Syria has being designed to 'protect our Druze brothers', the Israeli prime minister has much to gain from a demilitarised Suweida and southern Syria. The region can serve as a buffer between Israel and countries hostile to its existence, which might best be guaranteed by propping up an independent Druze state. An autonomous Jabal al-Druze, which means the mountain of the Druze, had briefly existed under the French mandate between 1921 and 1936 encompassing what is now the Suweida province of Syria. The name Jabal al-Druze had originally been used for parts of Mount Lebanon where independent Druze rule had existed under the Ma'n dynasty. These regions not only have significant Druze, but also Christians, another community in the region facing calls for elimination at the hands of Islamists. A grotesque reminder of the same was given last month when over 60 people were killed in the Mar Elias Church bombing in Damascus. This has prompted aspirations to rekindle the Maronite-Druze dualism that founded modern day Lebanon. The persecution of Christian community in the region, and the rise of Islamist forces recently exemplified by jihadist outfits such as Hezbollah, has reduced the Christians in Lebanon from constituting over 53 per cent of the population in 1932 to today being estimated to be under one third. Even though movements for the creation of a separate homeland haven't yet been taken up by the vulnerable Christian and Druze minorities in the region, it might have become an existential question for them today. While consolidating a Druze state with significant Christian population might serve Israel's geopolitical interests, the Jewish state needs to reflect on its own relationship with these communities as well. The Israeli Druze have protested against the 2018 law that established their country as a nation state of Jewish people, relegating religious minorities to the secondary tier with regards to the state's recognition of them, in turn tarnishing Israel's claims of being the sole secular democracy in the region. Far-right Jews, including some in Netanyahu's government, have also frequently attacked these communities. Safeguarding Druze autonomy in their historical homelands, while pushing for an ethnic cleansing of Gaza, is a leaf out of gory Islamist duplicity. It is hardly surprising that the Muslim world hasn't expressed any concern for the long victimised Druze community, and has not championed their right to self-determination.
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Christian patriarchs in rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church
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Syrian government forces to re-enter province following renewed clashes
The clashes came as government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area on Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said. Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials. Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country's fragile post-war transition. The conflict drew air strikes against Syrian forces by neighbouring Israel in defence of the Druze minority before most of the fighting was halted by a truce announced on Wednesday that was mediated by the US, Turkey and Arab countries. Under that agreement, Druze factions and clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Thursday. The clashes initially began between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes on Sunday before government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins' side against the Druze. The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes. Israel intervened, launching dozens of air strikes on convoys of government fighters and striking the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus in a major escalation of its involvement. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military. After the ceasefire and withdrawal of government forces, clashes once again flared between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of displacement. The governor of the neighbouring province of Daraa said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of 'attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups'. Meanwhile, Bedouin groups arrived on Friday from other areas of Syria to join the fight. On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that had been set ablaze.
