IDF hits Syrian regime after attacks on Druze minority

Following clashes between regime forces and Druze militias leaving dozens dead, IDF intervenes in Syria on behalf of Druze minority.

By Ehud Amiton, TPS

In a move to protect the Syrian Druze community, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday instructed the Israel Defense Forces to immediately attack Syrian government forces who entered the southern Syrian area of Suweida.

“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, and their family and historical ties to the Druze in Syria – and we are working to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them, and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

An Israeli security source told The Press Service of Israel, “This is an especially high scale of attacks against regime forces in the Druze Mountains. The State of Israel sees this as a test for implementing its policy of demilitarizing southern Syria and its commitment to the Druze.”

In the last three days, a reported 99 people were killed in ethnic violence between local Druze and Bedouins.

Around noon, Syrian Defense Minister Marahf Abu Kasra announced a ceasefire following what he said was an agreement reached between the government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and local Druze and Bedouin leaders. It wasn’t immediately clear if that ceasefire would be implemented.

On Monday, Israeli aircraft struck several Syrian tanks in that area.

Israel’s Druze community of 152,000 has been calling on the government to take stronger measures to protect their co-religionists in southern Syria. Around 40,000 Druze live in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Da’ara and Sweida under Israeli protection. Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

In May, the Israeli army set up a field hospital to treat civilians near the Syrian village of Hader.

Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed in December. Israel also launched waves of airstrikes on Syrian army assets and Iranian stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical Islamists.

While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone in the past, December’s takeover marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The demilitarized zone was established with a ceasefire in 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur War.

Israel considers the 1974 ceasefire agreement void until order is restored in Syria.