Israeli warplanes have executed a series of airstrikes in and around Damascus and across Syria, following Israeli officials’ warnings that the nation would intervene to protect Syria’s minority Druze sect. The strikes targeted a military site belonging to the Syrian government in the Damascus suburb of Harasta and other unidentified targets in Deraa province in southern Syria and Hama province in northwest Syria. At least one civilian death and four injuries were reported following the Israeli bombings on Friday night, according to official Syrian media.
These recent strikes are in response to earlier incidents, including the killing of four civilians by Israeli forces in southern Syria on Friday, and an attack in the vicinity of Syria’s presidential palace. Syria’s new rulers expressed their anger over these raids by Israel’s air force, calling it “a dangerous escalation”.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, stated that the attack early Friday was intended to send a message to the new Syrian leadership to deter them from making any aggressive moves against the Druze community. “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow any forces to deploy south of Damascus or create any threats to the Druze community,” declared the joint statement.
The Israeli army confirmed that fighter jets were deployed near the area of the presidential palace of Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus without providing further details. Israel has previously declared its commitment to protecting the Druze religious minority in Syria, an initiative that most Druze leaders have not welcomed.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, condemned the Israeli strikes during an interview with Al Jazeera, stating that “The Israeli attacks on Syria are absolutely unacceptable. There is nothing in international law that allows for pre-emptive bombing.”
The new government in Damascus, which took power after the removal of Bashar al-Assad in December and is led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, faces internal challenges, including pressures from extremist factions within their own ranks. Fights erupted in Druze-majority areas outside Damascus after an audio clip attributed to a Druze cleric disrespecting Prophet Muhammad was shared on social media. The head of the Syrian Druze religious leaders, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, accused the Syrian government of an “unjustified genocidal attack” and called for international intervention to protect the Druze in southern Syria. The other Druze religious leaders, however, chose to negotiate with Damascus directly and declined the call for international intervention.
A UK-based group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that 56 individuals, including fighters and security forces, were killed in Sahnaya and the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, which has a Druze majority. The Druze religious sect originated in the 10th century as a branch of Ismailism, Shia Islam, with a significant world population residing in Syria, especially in the province of Sweida and some suburbs of Damascus. The others live mostly in Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights.
Despite the Syrian government’s denials of involvement in the clashes with the Druze, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that over 1,700 civilians, largely from Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite community, were killed in March by security forces and their allies. Since the ousting of Assad’s regime in December, Israel has undertaken continuous airstrikes targeting military equipment and stockpiles in Syrian territory, claiming these actions are to protect the Druze. Analysts suggest that Israel’s strategy is both to weaken the new Syrian government and to establish and maintain a potential proxy ally within the country, an approach that has sparked controversy in light of Israel’s own national interest considerations.
The Syrian President, Sharaa, recently conveyed to a visiting US congressman that Damascus desires to normalize relations with Israel.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/02/israel-says-airstrikes-in-syria-are-message-to-protect-druze-minority
