Syrian Bedouins continue attacks on Druze in Suwayda; Israel vows to protect minority

Syrian Bedouin militants launched a fresh attack Thursday against Druze fighters in the southern province of Suwayda, located east of the Israeli Golan Heights. The assault is part of a broader escalation in the region, where at least 500 people have been killed following coordinated attacks by Syrian regime forces and Bedouin militants on Druze positions.

Sunni jihadist groups have also carried out massacres and acts of humiliation against Druze civilians, including women and the elderly. In response, Israel – known for its close ties with the Druze community – conducted aerial strikes targeting Syrian regime forces and assets in Damascus. After an American-brokered ceasefire, the Syrian Islamist Al-Shara regime withdrew its forces from the Druze-majority Suwayda region, home to an estimated 700,000 people.

However, a Bedouin commander stated that the truce does not apply to his forces and vowed to continue attacks on the Druze community. The militants reportedly aim to secure the release of Bedouins detained by Druze forces in response to recent assaults on Druze areas.

The 39-year-old doctor Hendi Ubaid described the destruction in the area. 

“It’s as if the city went through a natural disaster or flood,” Ubaid said in an interview with AFP. “I saw three bodies in the street, including an elderly woman. Burned and overturned cars were everywhere. Even a tank had caught fire."

Israel, which is home to a sizable Druze minority, has promised to protect the Syrian Druze population, which has close family ties with the Druze population in the Israeli Golan Heights. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced that Israel would continue to use military force against jihadist militants who seek to harm the Druze community.

Netanyahu emphasized that the area between Damascus and the Israeli border where the Druze community resides, is a demilitarized zone where Syrian regime forces are not permitted to enter. He accused the Syrian Islamist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa of violating previous understandings by sending regime forces to the Druze border region. 

“It sent an army south of Damascus, into the area that should be demilitarized, and it began to massacre the Druze. We could not accept this in any way,” Netanyahu stated. The Israeli prime minister continued by stating that the withdrawal of Syrian regime forces “was achieved through force. Not through requests, not through pleas – through force.”

“We acted, and we will continue to act as necessary,” Netanyahu vowed. 

In recent days, the Druze community in Israel has called on the Jewish state to increase its efforts to protect the Druze population in neighboring Syria.

Turkey, which maintains close ties with the Syrian Islamist regime, has condemned the Israeli military action against Syrian regime forces and their jihadist Bedouin allies. Meanwhile, France and the United States have called for calm in the region. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. State Department official stated that “all parties must step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire.”

“The government must investigate all reports of abuse and hold the perpetrators accountable,” the official continued, referring to the attacks on the Druze community in Syria.  

The White House Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a press briefing that Washington is “very actively monitoring the situation.”