Damascus: Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes on Damascus Wednesday, intensifying its military intervention in Syria in response to what it describes as a brutal government-led assault on the country’s Druze minority. The strikes reportedly damaged the Syrian Defence Ministry and a target near the presidential palace, sending thick plumes of smoke over the capital and drawing condemnation from Syrian officials.
The operation, one of Israel's most forceful in the region in recent years, was presented as a direct response to attacks by Syrian forces and allied Bedouin militias on the southern city of Sweida home to the country’s Druze population. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed the Israeli military would continue operations in Sweida “until the Syrian forces that attacked the Druze withdraw completely.”
According to Israeli military sources, the targets included the entrance of Syria’s main military headquarters and military convoys approaching Sweida, some reportedly equipped with heavy weaponry such as tanks and machine gun-mounted pickup trucks. In Damascus, the strikes left at least 13 people wounded, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.
The crisis in Sweida has grown increasingly dire. Over 450 civilians, including women and children, have reportedly been killed in the recent wave of violence, though some estimates from security sources place the toll closer to 300. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented at least 169 deaths as of Wednesday.
What began as localized clashes between Druze self-defence groups and armed Bedouin tribes quickly escalated when Syrian government troops, dispatched to contain the violence, ended up clashing with Druze militias themselves. Eyewitnesses in Sweida described harrowing scenes: homes looted and burned, gunfire echoing through the streets, and terrified families sheltering indoors as government forces advanced.
“We’re surrounded,” said a local resident who spoke to reporters by phone. “We hear screaming, and we’re trying to keep the children quiet so no one hears us. We’re terrified.”
In a dramatic show of solidarity, dozens of Israeli Druze crossed the border fence into Syria on Wednesday to assist embattled relatives and co-religionists. Israeli troops reportedly worked quickly to return the civilians safely, while voices within Israel’s Druze community called for more active military protection of their Syrian kin.
Faez Shkeir, a Druze man from Israel, expressed anguish: “My wife, my uncles, my family are in Syria. They’ve been driven from their homes, their houses looted and burned. I want to help, but I feel powerless.”
The United States, while acknowledging improving ties with Syria’s transitional administration under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, urged all parties to de-escalate and seek peaceful solutions. U.S. Syria envoy Tom Barrack condemned the attacks on civilians and called for accountability. “Dialogue, not destruction, must prevail. There must be justice for the victims in Sweida,” he said.
Sharaa, struggling to unite a fractured country after taking power from the Assad regime, is facing backlash from religious and ethnic minorities fearful of rising Islamist influence. His administration has been under increasing scrutiny after widespread reports of atrocities against the Alawite community earlier this year, and now, the Druze.
Despite promises to protect minorities, reports from Sweida paint a grim picture. Local media outlet Sweida24 reported ongoing artillery shelling and mortar attacks throughout the region. On Tuesday, a Reuters correspondent witnessed security forces looting civilian homes, stealing personal belongings, and torching residences.
A government statement issued late Wednesday blamed “outlawed armed elements” for the violence and pledged to restore order while defending the rights of the population. But for many, those promises ring hollow as the violence and displacement continue.
The Druze community, which follows a distinct religious tradition branching from Islam, spans Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. As sectarian violence worsens, the fate of this ancient community has become a flashpoint in the region’s broader conflict. With Israeli jets bombing the Syrian capital and Druze voices growing louder, the Sweida crisis is no longer just a local rebellion it has become an international fault line.