Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a wave of intense strikes across Syria late on May 2, less than a day after it struck the vicinity of the presidential palace in Damascus to warn the country’s new Islamist rulers not to harm the Druze religious minority following deadly sectarian clashes.
The strikes targeted “a military site, anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement.
Later, the military announced troops were “deployed to southern Syria and prepared to prevent hostile forces from entering the area and Druze villages.”
“The IDF continues to monitor the developments, while maintaining readiness for defense and different scenarios,” the military added.
The Syrian Arab News Agency reported strikes near Damascus, in the western governorates of Latakia and Hamas, and in the southern governorate of Daraa. According to the state-run news agency, one civilian was killed at the city of Harasta near Damascus, and four people were wounded in the town of Shathah in the countryside of Hama.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based monitoring group, said that a total of 20 Israeli strikes hit military targets across Syria in what it described as the “heaviest” attack by Israel this year.
The strike came following several days of clashes between forces of the Syrian interim government and Druze fighters near Damascus.
The clashes took place in the Druze-majority towns of Jaramana and Sahnaya, as well as along a road linking Damascus with the southeastern governorate of al-Suwayda, the heartland of Druze in Syria. More than 100 people were killed, per the SOHR.
Israel, citing historic links with its own Druze community, launched several warning strikes during the clashes. The IDF went on to strike the vicinity of the presidential palace near Damascus early on May 2, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz called “a clear message to the Syrian regime.”
In addition to the latest strikes, Israel in recent days took in 20 Syrian Druze who were apparently wounded in the sectarian clashes there, including five more overnight, the IDF said on May 3. They were all being treated at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
According to reports from Syria, an Israeli Air Force helicopter landed in al-Suwayda overnight and left after several minutes, apparently taking with it the wounded Druze.
The spiritual leader of the Druze in Syria Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on May 1 condemned what he called a “genocidal campaign” by the government against his people, calling for “international protection” for all minorities in the country. In response, the interim government vowed to protect minorities and rejected calls for international intervention.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, on May 2 met with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, an ally of Lebanese Hezbollah who urged Syrian Druze to reject “Israeli interference.”
Overall, the latest strikes shows that Israel is planning to escalate further against Syria, using the interim government’s failure to crop sectarianism as a pretext. While Druze leaders affirmed their loyalty to Damascus during a recent meeting, later it emerged that the majority of them were still refusing any cooperation with the government.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
