Israel bombs the Syrian town of Suwayda after Damascus government forces enter
The Syrian government has declared a ceasefire in the area, shaken by a week of clashes between Druze and Bedouin.
BarcelonaIsrael on Tuesday twice bombed several Syrian army positions in Suwayda, a city with a Druze majority in the south of the country, while Damascus troops were deployed to impose a curfew. after sectarian clashes that have left at least 102 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israeli authorities, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, have justified the air operation as a measure to "protect the Druze population in Syria" and prevent the militarization of an area they consider strategic and close to their border.
According to Israeli military sources, the attacks have destroyed at least two Syrian tanks and several armored vehicles. The Syrian state news agency SANA has confirmed the bombings, which also reportedly affected access roads to the city. This is the second Israeli intervention in less than 24 hours. On Monday, the Israeli air force had already attacked a Syrian military convoy advancing toward Suwayda.
Persistent tensions
Damascus's armed intervention comes after a week of sectarian clashes between Bedouin tribes and armed Druze groups. Faced with the escalating conflict, and following a mass kidnapping of civilians that heightened tensions, the Syrian government ordered the army's entry into the city on Tuesday. However, until now, security in Suwayda had been in the hands of local forces and religious leaders. This military deployment comes as part of the new Syrian government's attempts, led by former rebel fighter Ahmed al-Sharaa, to regain territorial control of the entire country, in a transitional phase following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime last December.
The highest spiritual authority of the Druze Unitarian Muslims explicitly asked local armed groups not to confront the army and to facilitate the return of state institutions, which he considered necessary to curb the chaos and violence. He denounced having acted under pressure and called for resistance. This has accentuated tensions within the community and with the central government.
Internal. "Public order in Suwayda will now be the responsibility of the police forces, not the army," the head of the military police, Ali al-Hasan, told SANA. represents a "direct threat" to the Druze population. Israel considers it essential to prevent the deployment of Damascus forces in the south of the country, especially near the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory occupied by the Jewish state since 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981, and home to some 24,000 Druze.
This afternoon, the Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, called for the death of Syrian President Ahmed Shara, whom he described as a "terrorist" and "barbaric murderer." "If it looks like Hamas, talks like Hamas, and acts like Hamas… it's Hamas!" the minister said via social media.
The new Syrian government, recently supported by former President Donald Trump – who lifted sanctions and removed the terrorist designation from the former al-Sham militia – is seeking to consolidate its authority after more than a decade of civil war. However, the violence against the Alawite minority in March and the ongoing crisis with the Druze community call into question its ability to ensure the cohesion of a deeply fractured country.
