Israel strikes Syrian Protection Ministry as clashes between authorities and Druze minority rage on

[ad_1] DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Israeli army launched Wednesday a uncommon airstrike within the coronary heart of Damascus, hitting the Syrian Protection Ministry headquarters as clashes within the southern Syrian metropolis of Sweida continued to flare.

Israel’s assault got here hours after a drone strike on the identical constructing. Syrian state media reported a “variety of casualties” with out giving additional particulars.

As clashes have raged for days within the southern Syrian metropolis of Sweida between government forces and Druze armed groups , Israel has launched a collection of strikes concentrating on authorities troops and convoys, which it says are in assist of the non secular minority group, and has vowed to escalate its involvement. It has additionally beefed up its forces alongside its border with Syria.

Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz stated after the airstrike in a put up on X that the “painful blows have begun.”

Syria’s Protection Ministry had earlier blamed militias within the Druze-majority space of Sweida for violating a ceasefire settlement that had been reached Tuesday, inflicting Syrian military troopers to return fire . It stated they have been “adhering to guidelines of engagement to guard residents, forestall hurt, and make sure the secure return of those that left the town again to their properties.”

Syrian Druze run away from tear gasoline fired by Israeli troopers as they protest on the Syrian facet of the border with Israel, seen from Majdal Shams within the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the continued clashes between Syrian authorities forces and Druze armed teams within the southern Syrian metropolis of Sweida. (AP Picture/Leo Correa)

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In the meantime, reviews of assaults on civilians continued to floor, and Druze with members of the family within the battle zone searched desperately for details about their destiny amid communication blackouts.

A insurgent offensive led by Islamist rebel teams ousted Syria’s longtime despotic chief, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an finish to a virtually 14-year civil warfare. Since then, the nation’s new rulers have struggled to consolidate management.

The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have confronted suspicion from non secular and ethnic minorities, whose fears elevated after clashes between authorities forces and pro-Assad armed teams in March spiraled into sectarian revenge assaults. A whole lot of civilians from the Alawite non secular minority, to which Assad belongs, have been killed.

Druze concern for the lives of their family in Sweida In Jaramana close to the Syrian capital, Evelyn Azzam, 20, stated she fears that her husband, Robert Kiwan, 23, is lifeless. The newlyweds dwell within the Damascus suburb, however Kiwan would commute to Sweida for work every morning and bought trapped there when the clashes erupted.

Azzam stated she was on the cellphone with Kiwan when safety forces questioned him and a colleague about whether or not they have been affiliated with Druze militias. When her husband’s colleague raised his voice, she heard a gunshot. Kiwan was then shot whereas attempting to attraction.

“They shot my husband within the hip from what I may collect,” she stated, struggling to carry again tears. “The ambulance took him to the hospital. Since then, we don't know what has occurred.”

A Syrian Druze from Sweida dwelling within the United Arab Emirates stated her mom, father, and sister have been hiding in a basement of their dwelling close to the hospital, the place they may hear the sound of shelling and bullets from outdoors. She spoke on situation of anonymity out of concern her household may be focused.

She had struggled to pay money for them, however when she reached them, she stated, “I heard them cry. I've by no means heard them this manner earlier than.”

One other Druze girl dwelling within the UAE with members of the family in Sweida, who additionally spoke on situation of anonymity, stated a cousin advised her {that a} home the place their family lived had been burned down with everybody inside it.

It reminded her of when the Islamic State extremist group attacked Sweida in 2018, she stated. Her uncle was amongst many civilians there who took arms to battle again whereas Assad’s forces stood apart. He was killed within the combating.

“It’s the identical proper now,” she advised The Related Press. The Druze fighters, she stated, are “simply people who find themselves defending their province and their households.”

The Druze religious sect started as a Tenth-century offshoot of Ismailism, a department of Shiite Islam. Greater than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide dwell in Syria. Many of the different Druze dwell in Lebanon and Israel, together with within the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria within the 1967 Mideast Struggle and annexed in 1981.

Druze from Syria and Israel protest on the Israeli-Syrian border, in Majdal Shams within the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the continued clashes between Syrian authorities forces and Druze armed teams within the southern Syrian metropolis of Sweida. (AP Picture/Leo Correa)

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Reviews of killings and looting in Druze areas The most recent escalation in Syria started with tit-for-tat kidnappings and assaults between native Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions within the southern province.

Authorities forces that intervened to revive order then clashed with the Druze.

Movies surfaced on social media of government-affiliated fighters forcibly shaving the mustaches of Druze sheikhs, and stepping on Druze flags and photos of non secular clerics. Different movies confirmed Druze fighters beating captured authorities forces and posing by their lifeless our bodies. AP reporters within the space noticed burned and looted homes.

No official casualty figures have been launched since Monday, when the Syrian Inside Ministry stated 30 individuals had been killed. The U.Okay.-based warfare monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated greater than 250 individuals had been killed as of Wednesday morning, together with 4 youngsters, 5 girls and 138 troopers and safety forces.

The observatory stated at the least 21 individuals have been killed in “subject executions.”

Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued an announcement Wednesday condemning the violations.

“These felony and unlawful actions can't be accepted beneath any circumstances, and utterly contradicts the rules that the Syrian state is constructed on,” the assertion learn, vowing that perpetrators, “whether or not from people or organizations outdoors of the regulation, might be held accountable legally, and we are going to by no means permit this to occur with out punishment.”

Druze within the Golan gathered alongside the border fence to protest the violence in opposition to Druze in Syria.

Israel threatens to scale up its intervention In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and sometimes serve within the army. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over the way to take care of the nation’s new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the brand new system whereas others remained suspicious and pushed for an autonomous Druze area.

On Wednesday, Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz stated in an announcement that the Israeli military “will proceed to assault regime forces till they withdraw from the world — and also will quickly elevate the bar of responses in opposition to the regime if the message just isn't understood.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in an announcement Tuesday evening that Israel has “a dedication to protect the southwestern area of Syria as a demilitarized space on Israel’s border” and has “an obligation to safeguard the Druze locals.”

Israel has taken an aggressive stance towards Syria’s new leaders since Assad’s fall, saying it doesn’t need Islamist militants close to its borders. Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory alongside the border with the Golan Heights and launched a whole bunch of airstrikes on army websites in Syria.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut.

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