Israel Strikes Syrian Troops To Protect The Druze
- 15.07.2025, 20:14
Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze began in southern Syria on July 13.
The Israeli Air Force on Monday and Tuesday, July 14 and 15, struck government forces' military equipment and supply routes in Syria. This came after the Syrian army entered the city of Suweida, the capital of the province of the same name located in the south of the country, where the Druze ethno-religious minority is densely populated.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister said the IDF operation is aimed first at preventing violence by government forces against the Druze, and second at ensuring the demilitarization of areas in Syria near the Israeli border. Netanyahu and Katz called the concentration of Syrian forces in them a threat to the security of the Jewish state.
Syrian state news agency SANA confirmed the Israeli strikes but did not give details. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least one Syrian government army tank was hit. One member of the Syrian Interior Ministry troops was also reportedly wounded by shrapnel and hospitalized.
On July 13, clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze began in southern Syria. The next day, the Islamist government in Damascus sent government troops to the area - in the authorities' version, to de-escalate the conflict. However, SOHR accused the Syrian army of massacring local residents - according to SOHR, the military shot at least 19 people on the spot in Soueid.
A total of at least 135 people, including two women and two children, were killed in the area in 48 hours, according to the watchdog. Syria's Interior Ministry on July 14 put the figure at 30 people, again without providing additional details.
On July 15 around noon local time, Defense Minister in Syria's interim government Murhaf Abu Kasra said authorities had reached a cease-fire agreement with "senior figures" in Suweida. "Government forces will only respond to attacks and fight groups that are outside the law," Mourhaf Abu Qasra on social media X.