Israel has said that it carried out a "warning operation" in Syria, in the latest violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
A joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday claimed that the strike aimed “to prevent harm to the Druze."
The statement said the strike targeted an armed group allegedly preparing to attack a Druze community in Sahnaya town near Damascus.
Israel claimed that the strike aimed to convey a “serious message” to Syria’s leadership that it expects Damascus to “act to prevent harm to the Druze.”
Israel’s Druze population, estimated at 150,000, mostly holds Israeli citizenship and serves in the military, unlike the 23,000 Druze in Syria’s Golan Heights, who largely reject Israeli citizenship and identify themselves as Syrian nationals.
On Wednesday, the Syrian Health Ministry said 11 civilians and security personnel were killed in attacks by "outlaw groups" in Ashrafieh Sahnaya town in southern Syria.
Druze leaders in Syria and the occupied Golan Heights continue to resist Israel’s attempts to position itself as their protector. Their resistance is rooted in decades of Israeli efforts to reshape their identity.
Demands for Israeli withdrawal
Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights in 1967, annexing it in 1981, a move recognised only by the United States.
Since December 2024, Israel has invaded Syria’s demilitarised buffer zone following the ouster of the Bashar al Assad regime, ending the 1974 disengagement agreement without a withdrawal timeline.
Syria’s new administration, led by President Ahmed al Sharaa, has condemned Israel’s actions as violations of the country’s sovereignty and called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
While Syria emphasises equal protection for all communities, including the Druze, who constitute about 3 percent of its population and are concentrated in Suwayda, Israel has claimed that Druze in Syria face attacks, a narrative Damascus views as a pretext for territorial expansion.
Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long rule that began in 1963.
Ayalon says majority of Israelis agrees that there must be "a comprehensive end to the war in return for bringing our hostages home, and an election as soon as possible so that this government can be replaced."
