- Israel conducted strikes on the Syrian capital Wednesday following sectarian violence between the Druze and Bedouin.
- Israel's attacks in Damascus targeted Syria’s military headquarters and another target near the presidential palace.
- Israel said its attacks are to help protect the Syrian Druze, an Arab minority group.
Israel carried out a number of powerful strikes in downtown Damascus, the Syrian capital, early Wednesday following sectarian violence in the southern part of the country involving an Arab minority group, the Druze.
Wednesday’s attack will likely escalate the tensions between Israel and Syria and is one of the most serious challenges Syria’s new government has faced since it toppled the former regime and came into power last year, per The Wall Street Journal.
The strikes on Wednesday are a part of a series of attacks Israel has conducted against Syria that started earlier this week when the local Druze and Bedouin populations began clashing, per CNN. Both the Syrian and Israeli governments have intervened in the violence.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some Syrian activists and community leaders believe the violence worsened after government forces got involved.
The Israeli military said all of its actions against Syria are meant to help protect Syrian Druze, an Arab minority group who live in the Sweida region.
Syria’s budding government has denounced the strike by Israel as a “violation of its sovereignty,” per The Wall Street Journal.
According to NPR, Tom Barrack, U.S. special envoy to Syria, said the Trump administration condemned the violence in southern Syria, and called on all parties to deescalate the conflict and negotiate a ceasefire.
Where did Israel strike?
Israel’s targets in Damascus on Wednesday included Syria’s military headquarters as well as another military target located near the Syrian presidential palace, per NPR.
“The military headquarters in Damascus is the location from which Syrian regime commanders direct combat operations and deploy regime forces” to the Sweida area, the Israeli military said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Syrian Health Ministry reported that one person was killed in the strikes and 18 others were injured, per CNN.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, posted a video on X of a live TV news shot in Damascus that shows a building exploding in the background. “The painful strikes have begun,” Katz wrote.
The Israeli military also conducted an earlier strike on Wednesday which struck the entrance of the defense ministry building, per CNN. Two civilians were injured in this earlier strike.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Israel said it was reinforcing the border with Syria and would be deploying more troops for potential operations. The military said “it will continue to operate, both in defense and offense, to ensure the security of Israeli civilians.”
Israel has deployed troops in southern Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime late last year, it said these troops are to protect Israel’s security and prevent cross-border attacks on its citizens.
Tensions started rising as the Bedouin and Druze tribes began clashing
The growing tensions between Israel and Syria hit a tipping point on Monday when clashes occurred between Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Suwayda, following the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable merchant, per The Wall Street Journal.
The Druze community lives on both sides of the border between Syria and Israel.
NPR reported that the Syrian military joined Bedouin militias in the clashes against the Druze.
On Monday and Tuesday, Israel conducted a series of airstrikes against Syrian government tanks, military convoys and positions in the southern part of Syria.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Israel Defense Forces,“will continue operating with force in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze, until their complete withdrawal,” per CNN.
“To our Druze brothers in Israel — you can count on the Israel Defense Forces to protect your brothers in Syria. (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu and I, as defense minister, have made a commitment — and we will honor it,” Katz said in a statement.