Israel orders strikes on Syrian forces following attack on Druze community

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been instructed to strike Syrian regime forces following an attack on Druze communities in Syria, The Times of Israel reports.

In a joint statement, Netanyahu and Katz said the IDF was ordered to target “regime forces and weapons that were transferred to the As-Suwayda area,” which they claim violates the established demilitarisation policy prohibiting the deployment of forces and weapons in southern Syria — a move viewed as a direct threat to Israel.

“Israel seeks to prevent harm to the Druze in Syria, given the strong fraternal ties with our Druze citizens in Israel and their familial and historical links with the Druze in Syria,” the statement reads. “We are acting to prevent any harm to them and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria.”

The July 14–15 clashes in As-Suwayda between Druze militias, Bedouin clans, and Syrian government forces, reportedly sparked by a sectarian dispute, killed dozens, with estimates ranging from 30 (Syrian Interior Ministry) to 89 (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, SOHR), including 18 Syrian troops. The IDF’s strikes on July 14 targeted Syrian tanks advancing toward As-Suwayda, which Israel claimed posed a threat to Druze civilians and violated demilitarisation policies.

By Khagan Isayev