Israel conducts airstrikes in Damascus, demands Syria withdraw regime forces from Druze areas

In its strongest signal so far, Israel conducted airstrikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Wednesday, demanding that the government withdraw its forces from the majority-Druze province of Suwayda, where reports suggested that a number of civilians had been executed by regime troops.

After a short-lived ceasefire on Tuesday, clashes between government-affiliated forces and Druze militias continued in the area of Suwayda in southern Syria on Wednesday, with the latest estimates indicating that at least 248 people have been killed so far.

"The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria," the military stated, adding it "continues to monitor developments and the regime's actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria."

"In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios."

Despite reports that Israel had assured the U.S. it would stop its airstrikes on the forces of the Syrian government, Defense Minister Israel Katz had vowed earlier that the IDF would continue the strikes “until they withdraw from the area – and will soon escalate its responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”

“The Syrian regime must leave the Druze in Suwayda alone and pull its forces back. As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarization policy we have decided upon,” Katz said.

The clashes in southern Syria began last weekend with attacks by Bedouin gunmen against Druze towns in Suwayda province. The fighting escalated when the government sent armed forces to the area to quell the tensions.

Since then, there have been numerous reports, some of which remain hard to confirm independently, that the government-affiliated forces have kidnapped, tortured, humiliated, and executed Druze fighters and civilians.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the dead include at least 92 Druze, including 21 who were summarily executed.

Government forces include radical Islamist terror groups that haven’t yet been fully integrated into the new security apparatus. Similar groups were responsible for the massacre of over 1,000 Alawites on the Syrian coast in March.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed the Israeli “commitment to preserve the south-western region of Syria as a demilitarized area on Israel's border.”

“We will not allow a return to the situation where a second Lebanon is being established there; we also have an obligation to safeguard the Druze locals. We are doing that by carrying out intensive operations. I hope we won't need further operations, and that very much depends on what is understood and done, and what is not done, in Damascus.”

Syria on Tuesday condemned Israel’s airstrikes in Suwayda, which reportedly destroyed several tanks and killed around a dozen soldiers.

“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the treacherous Israeli aggression carried out today through coordinated drone attacks and military airstrikes,” the foreign ministry said.

Damascus “holds Israel fully responsible for this aggression and its consequences,” it added, stressing Syria’s “legitimate right to defend its land and its people by all means permitted under international law.”

The Israeli foreign ministry responded, “The Syrian army and security forces, together with allied jihadist militias, have once again perpetrated massacres against the Druze minority in southern Syria. These barbaric and inhumane attacks must be stopped immediately.”

“Israel will not hesitate to take necessary measures to protect the Druze minority in Syria if and when required.”

According to the news outlet Axios, the regime of former wanted Islamist terrorist, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had informed Jerusalem before sending troops to Suwayda, arguing that it didn’t want to threaten Israel but instead to impose order on the province.

In recent months, relations between the two governments had markedly improved, as the U.S. pushed for Syria to sign a peace treaty and join the Abraham Accords.