The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the entrance to the Syrian regime’s General Staff headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict in southern Syria, where violent clashes have erupted between Druze communities and pro-Assad militias.
In an official statement, the Israeli military confirmed it is continuing offensive operations in the Druze-majority province of Sweida and closely monitoring the situation. “The IDF is prepared for various scenarios,” the statement read, adding that the operations are being carried out in line with directives from the political leadership.
Syrian media later reported heavy shelling across multiple facilities within the General Staff complex in Damascus, in what appears to be one of the most direct Israeli strikes on Syrian military infrastructure in recent months.
Just a day earlier, Israel launched preemptive strikes along its northern border targeting Syrian troops who had reportedly moved closer to the separation line. Israeli officials stated the action was taken to prevent the Assad regime from exploiting regional instability to establish a new military foothold near Israeli territory. The strikes, they emphasized, were aimed at preserving the current status quo and reinforcing demilitarization policies in the area.
This latest offensive comes after several days of intense fighting in Sweida between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes, which has left at least 248 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Among the dead are 92 Druze, including 28 civilians—21 of whom were allegedly executed by regime forces. The SOHR also reported 138 casualties among Syrian security forces and the deaths of 18 Bedouin fighters.
The violence was sparked by the abduction of a Druze merchant, which triggered a wave of retaliatory kidnappings. On Monday, the Assad regime announced it would intervene, deploying troops to Sweida on Tuesday. However, local witnesses, independent sources, and rights groups accused regime forces of siding with the Bedouin tribes, further fueling the violence.
On the same day, Syrian state media reported Israeli airstrikes in Sweida—attacks that resumed on Wednesday.
AFP correspondents on the ground in Sweida described scenes of gunfire and plumes of smoke rising from several neighborhoods as tensions continued to mount.
From Tel Aviv, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel would not turn a blind eye to the plight of the Druze in Syria. “We will firmly enforce our demilitarization policy,” he stated, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces from the Al-Sweida area. He also warned that the IDF would “intensify its response against the regime if this message is not understood.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also defended the strikes on Syrian positions, arguing they were necessary to protect the Druze population and avoid a repeat of past mistakes. “We will not allow the emergence of a second Lebanon in Syria,” he said during a visit to a military training center in the Jordan Valley on Tuesday.
The crisis has resonated within Israel as well. Druze leaders inside the country declared a strike in solidarity with their Syrian counterparts, calling on Israeli Druze to prepare to cross the border and assist their families. On Tuesday, several dozen Druze reportedly managed to cross the border in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before being turned back by the IDF.
