Israel strikes Damascus as combating between authorities forces and Druze rages

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/63c9/live/1a8b60a0-6246-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Syria's defence ministry headquarters in Damascus, Syria (16 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Syria's defence ministry headquarters in central Damascus was hit by Israeli strikes

Israel's navy struck the Syrian defence ministry in Damascus and authorities forces in southern Syria on Wednesday, as lethal sectarian combating within the largely Druze province of Suweida continued for a fourth day.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated its forces have been "working to avoid wasting our Druze brothers and to remove the regime's gangs". The Syrian international ministry accused Israel of "treacherous aggression".

Greater than 300 individuals are reported to have been killed in Suweida since Sunday, when clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated he was "very anxious" concerning the violence within the south however believed it will finish inside hours.

"We have now agreed on particular steps that can carry this troubling and horrifying state of affairs to an finish tonight," he wrote on X on Wednesday night.

Syria's international ministry stated the nation "welcomes the efforts made by the US and Arabian sides" to "resolve the present disaster" peacefully.

Israel has not but commented on the ceasefire bid.

Earlier the Syrian inside ministry introduced that it had reached a ceasefire settlement with Druze leaders "as a part of efforts to revive safety and stability". It stated navy operations would finish instantly, police would arrange checkpoints in Suweida metropolis, and that the province can be "totally built-in" into the Syrian state.

One Druze chief, Sheikh Yousef Jarbou, confirmed the settlement. However one other who helps Israel's intervention, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, referred to as for Druze fighters to proceed combating till the "complete liberation of our province from gangs".

The Israeli navy started putting Syrian safety forces and their weapons on Monday, after they have been deployed to town of Suweida for the primary time since Sunni Islamist-led rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/27ca/live/accac270-626a-11f0-b1b9-2b94c1f6d9f3.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A BBC map showing Syria, Israel, the occupied Golan Heights and Suweida city" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Minority teams together with the Druze - whose faith is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its personal distinctive identification and beliefs - are suspicious of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his authorities, regardless of his pledges to guard them.

Their fears have been heightened by a number of outbreaks of sectarian violence over the previous eight months, together with one in Could wherein dozens of individuals have been reportedly killed in clashes between Druze, safety forces, and allied Islamist fighters in Damascus and Suweida.

Within the wake of that combating, the federal government reached an settlement with Druze militias to rent native safety forces in Suweida province from their ranks.

Netanyahu has stated he's dedicated to stopping hurt to the Druze in Syria due to their deep ties to these residing in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Wednesday afternoon that "the warnings in Damascus" had ended and that the Israeli navy would "proceed to function vigorously in Suweida to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze till they withdraw fully".

He later posted that "the painful blows have begun", above a video clip displaying a TV presenter diving under a desk live on camera as an Israeli air strike hit the nearby entrance to the Syrian defence ministry in Umayyad Sq., in central Damascus.

Fadi Al Halabi, a London-based Syrian filmmaker who's visiting Damascus, stated he was close by when he heard the Israeli fighter jets method.

"Folks's faces have been so afraid. Everybody began operating [in] the road. No-one knew the place to go. Immediately the air strike[s] started, focusing on among the most crowded areas, together with the ministry of defence," he instructed the BBC.

The Israeli navy stated it additionally struck a "navy goal within the space" of the presidential palace within the capital, in addition to armoured autos loaded with heavy machine weapons and weapons on their method to Suweida, and firing posts and weapons storage services in southern Syria.

Syria's international ministry stated the strikes focused authorities establishments and civilian services in Damascus and Suweida and killed "a number of harmless civilians".

"This flagrant assault, which types a part of a deliberate coverage pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, unfold chaos, and undermine safety and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Constitution and worldwide humanitarian regulation," it added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, in the meantime reported that the humanitarian state of affairs in Suweida metropolis had quickly deteriorated.

It cited sources as saying there have been clashes in a number of space of town and that tanks had attacked the nationwide hospital, inflicting panic among the many scores of casualties from the combating being handled there. In addition they stated there have been acute shortages of water and medical provides.

Later, the Syrian well being ministry stated authorities forces had entered the hospital and located "dozens of our bodies" after "outlaw teams withdrew", based on the official Sana information company.

A person named Hosam instructed the BBC he was within the centre of Suweida metropolis and had witnessed civilians coming beneath fireplace from artillery and snipers.

"I misplaced my neighbour at this time on the road. One of many snipers shot him. We tried to [get an] ambulance [to take] him to hospital, however we could not," he stated.

The SOHR says greater than 300 individuals have been killed since Sunday in Suweida province.

They embrace 69 Druze fighters and 40 civilians, 27 of whom have been summarily killed by inside ministry and defence ministry forces, based on the group.

At the least 165 members of the federal government forces and 18 Bedouin tribal fighters have additionally been killed within the clashes, whereas 10 members of presidency forces have been killed in Israeli strikes, it says.

The BBC is just not in a position to confirm the SOHR's casualty figures.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/8715/live/f6c10b60-6269-11f0-83d2-4f671b8c1523.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Syrian security forces celebrate by raising their rifles during clashes with Druze fighters in Suweida city, southern Syria (16 July 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters The Syrian inside ministry stated a ceasefire had been agreed on Wednesday evening to finish the combating in Suweida metropolis

The combating between Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Suweida is alleged to have been sparked by the kidnapping of a Druze service provider on the freeway to Damascus final Friday.

On Sunday, armed Druze fighters reportedly encircled and later seized a neighbourhood of Suweida metropolis that's inhabited by Bedouin. The clashes quickly unfold into different elements of Suweida province, with tribesmen reportedly launching assaults on close by Druze cities and villages.

Syria's inside ministry later introduced that its forces and people of the defence ministry would intervene and impose order, saying the "harmful escalation is available in gentle of the absence of related official establishments".

Earlier this yr, Israel's prime minister demanded the whole demilitarisation of Suweida and two different southern provinces. He stated Israel noticed President Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as a menace. HTS is a former al-Qaeda affiliate that's nonetheless designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN and UK, however not by the US.

The Israeli navy has already carried out a whole bunch of strikes throughout Syria to destroy the nation's navy belongings for the reason that fall of the Assad regime.

And it has despatched troops into the UN-monitored demilitarised buffer zone between the occupied Golan Heights and Syria, in addition to a number of adjoining areas and the summit of Mount Hermon.