The Syrian army entered a Druze community stronghold in the south of the country on Tuesday, the government said, CNN reports, reviving fears of attacks against the minority and prompting new Israeli attacks on forces sent by Damascus.
Clashes erupted over the weekend between Druze forces and Bedouin tribes in the southern city of Suwayda, leaving 30 dead and dozens wounded. The violence prompted an intervention by the Syrian government, which lost eighteen of its soldiers in the fighting.
Islamist forces allied with the Syrian government joined the fighting this week, raising concerns among the Druze and prompting a key figure in the community to seek international protection.
Israel, which has pledged to protect the Druze in Syria, launched new attacks against Syrian government forces advancing towards Suwayda and vowed to continue attacks to protect the group.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said several civilians and members of the security forces were killed in the attacks, but did not give specific figures.
In a statement, the ministry condemned the Israeli attacks, calling them “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic” and “a reprehensible example of continued aggression and foreign interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.” Earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had struck “military vehicles belonging to Syrian regime forces in the Suwayda area of southern Syria.”
Who are the Druze?
The Druze are an Arab sect of approximately one million people living mainly in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In southern Syria, where the Druze form the majority in the Suwayda province, the community has occasionally been caught between forces of the former Assad regime and extremist groups during Syria's decade-long civil war.
Originating in Egypt in the 11th century, the group practices a branch of Islam that does not allow conversion - either to or from the religion - and no intermarriage.
In Syria, the Druze community is concentrated around three main provinces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south of the country.
More than 20,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, before formally annexing it in 1981.
The Druze of the Golan Heights share the territory with about 25,000 Jewish settlers, spread across more than 30 settlements.
Most Druze living in the Golan identify as Syrian and rejected an offer of Israeli citizenship when Israel occupied the region. Those who refused were given Israeli residency cards, but are not considered Israeli citizens.
Why are Syrian forces clashing with them?
After toppling the former dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, pledged to be inclusive and protect all of Syria's diverse communities, but extremist Sunni forces loyal to him have continued to violently crack down on religious minorities.
In March, hundreds of people were killed during a crackdown on the Alawite sect – to which Assad belonged – in the western city of Latakia, and in April, clashes between pro-government armed forces and Druze militias left at least 100 dead.
A key issue straining relations between Syria's new government and the Druze is the disarmament of Druze militias and their integration. Al-Sharaa, which seeks to consolidate the armed factions under a unified army, has been unable to secure agreement with the Druze, who strongly insist on maintaining their weapons and independent militias.
The Druze, some of whom opposed Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule, remain wary of al-Sharaa, an Islamist leader with a jihadist history. They have expressed concerns about the exclusion of some of their leaders from al-Sharaa's national dialogue processes and limited representation in the new government, which includes only one Druze minister.
Hours after troops entered the city on Tuesday, Syria's Defense Minister, Murhaf Abu Qusra, declared a "ceasefire" after an agreement with unidentified community leaders and said military police were being deployed "to regulate military behavior and hold violators accountable."
Why did Israel intervene?
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel is "committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel and their family and historical ties to the Druze in Syria."
About 130,000 Druze Israelis live in the Carmel and Galilee in northern Israel. Unlike other minority communities within Israel's borders, Druze men over the age of 18 have been conscripted into the Israeli army since 1957 and often rise to senior positions, with many building careers in the police and security forces.
The Israeli government had also unilaterally declared a demilitarized zone in Syria that "prohibits the entry of forces and weapons into southern Syria," according to the Israeli Prime Minister's office.
The Syrian government has rejected Israel's declaration of a demilitarized zone and, along with the international community, has repeatedly called on Israel to cease military actions that violate its sovereignty.
Israel, wary of extremist groups along its borders, has adopted a confrontational stance toward al-Sharaa, despite the Trump administration's efforts to promote Syrian-Israeli reconciliation and efforts to expand normalization in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, a Druze spiritual leader, Hikmat Al-Hijri, called for international protection from "all countries" to "confront the barbaric campaign" by the government and allied forces "using all possible means."
"We are facing a total war of extermination," Al-Hijri said in a video statement.
A statement issued by other Druze leaders welcomed the Syrian government's intervention in Suwayda and called on the state to exercise its authority. They also called for armed groups in the city to hand over their weapons to government forces and for a dialogue to begin with Damascus.
Can Israel reach an agreement with a country that continues to bomb?
Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel has occupied more territory in Syria and has repeatedly launched attacks on the country, with the stated aim of preventing the rebuilding of military capabilities and rooting out militancy that could threaten its security.
Israeli attacks have continued despite its closest ally, the United States, which is demanding that Israel normalize relations with Syria now that it is under the control of a new government.
The US has been trying to steer countries in the region towards a different path and is looking to get Syria to sign the Abraham Accords – a series of agreements normalising relations between Israel and several Arab countries. A senior administration official told CNN last month that it is “in Syria’s interest to lean towards Israel”.
Israel has shown its willingness to expand these agreements. After its deadly conflict with Iran, Netanyahu said the Israeli "victory" paved the way for a "dramatic expansion of peace agreements," adding that Israel is "working energetically on this."
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has even outlined which countries Israel is targeting for normalization.
“Israel is interested in expanding the peace and normalization circle of the Abraham Accords,” he said late last month at a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart. “We have an interest in adding countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the peace and normalization circle – while protecting Israel’s essential and security interests.”
Israel has held direct and indirect talks with the new Syrian government, an indication of the changing dynamics between the former enemies since the fall of the Assad regime. (A2 Televizion)
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