The Israeli military said on May 3 that it has deployed forces to southern Syria and the troops are ready to protect the Druze minority, following recent sectarian clashes.
"The Israeli army is deployed in southern Syria and is prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the areas of Druze villages," the official statement said, without clarifying whether this is a new deployment or providing details on the number of troops on the ground.
The Druze are a religious minority in Syria, practicing a branch of Shiite Islam.
Meanwhile, a Druze official in Sweida province, which is the center of the Druze community in Syria, said that "there has been no deployment of Israeli troops there."
The presence of Israeli troops "is reported to be limited to the province of Quneitra," near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where the military "has established a presence" after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December last year, the official added.
Following sectarian clashes near Damascus earlier this week, Israel has carried out several strikes it says were aimed at protecting the Druze community and has warned Syria's Islamist leaders not to attack the minority group.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said that "five Syrian Druze citizens were evacuated for medical treatment in Israel overnight" after suffering injuries in Syrian territory.
The Druze official in Sweida province said they were wounded "in clashes in Sahnaja," the site of recent sectarian violence near Damascus.
Israel carried out more than 20 airstrikes inside Syria on Friday evening, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, following an attack near the presidential palace in Damascus, which authorities condemned as a "dangerous escalation."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Thursday that Israel would react forcefully if the new Syrian government fails to protect the Druze minority.
The Syrian Observatory said more than 100 people were killed in clashes in Sahnaya and Jaramana, both near Damascus, as well as in Sweida province. REL (A2 Televizion)
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