Israel strikes in Damascus as clashes between government forces and
Druze groups in Syria rage on
[July 16, 2025]
By ABDELRAHMAN SHAHEEN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of
Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and
Druze armed groups collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its
involvement, saying it's in support of the Druze religious minority.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it struck near the entrance to the
Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus. Israel has launched a series of
airstrikes on convoys of government forces in southern Syria since the
clashes erupted and has beefed up forces on the border.
Syria’s Defense Ministry had earlier blamed militias in Sweida for
violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing
Syrian army soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in
the Druze-majority province.
“Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the
city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect
residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left
the city back to their homes,” the statement said.
A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria's
longtime despotic leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to
a nearly 14-year civil war. Since then, the country's new rulers have
struggled to consolidate control over the territory.
The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious
and ethnic minorities. The fears of minorities increased after clashes
between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled
into sectarian revenge attacks in which hundreds of civilians from the
Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed.
Reports of killings and looting in Druze areas
The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and
attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in
the southern province, a center of the Druze community.
Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed
with the Druze, while reports have surfaced of members of the security
forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, looting and burning civilian
homes.
No official casualty figures have been released since Monday, when the
Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The U.K.-based
war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 250
people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children,
five women and 138 soldiers and security forces.
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Smoke rise from clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze
militias in Sweida city, southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP
Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
The observatory said at least 21 people were killed in “field
executions.”
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of
Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1
million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live
in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel
captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
Israel threatens to scale up its intervention
In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in
the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal
with the country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating
into the new system while others have remained suspicious of the
authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a
statement that the Israeli army “will continue to attack regime
forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise
the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not
understood.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday night
that Israel has “a commitment to preserve the southwestern region of
Syria as a demilitarized area on Israel’s border" and has "an
obligation to safeguard the Druze locals.”
Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders
since Assad's fall, saying it doesn’t want Islamist militants near
its borders. Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone
on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and
launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.
—
Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
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