Israel strikes Syrian military headquarters as fallout from sectarian violence in Suwayda reaches Damascus.
Israel has struck the headquarters of the Syrian military and close to the presidential palace in the capital Damascus, compounding a volatile situation on the ground and following through on its threats over clashes between Syrian government troops and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday that the Israeli military had struck the entrance of the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus.
The strikes came hours after Katz’s threat to the Syrian government to withdraw from Suwayda, where they have been engaged in fierce clashes in recent days with fighters from Syria’s Druze minority, whom Israel views as a potential ally in Syria and claims to be intervening to protect.
Fierce fighting has resumed in the southern city, a major centre for the Druze community, since a ceasefire announced by the Syrian government on Tuesday swiftly collapsed.
Reporting from Damascus, media’s Osama Bin Javaid said he had witnessed two drone attacks on the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defence, one in front of the entrance to the building, and the other near the back. Drones were continuing to circulate overhead and bursts of gunfire had been heard, apparently from Syrian defensive positions shooting at the drones.
“This goes to show the situation is escalating. Israeli strikes have now reached the heart of Damascus,” he said.
‘Performative escalation for now’
Speaking to media, Rob Geist Pinfold, lecturer in international security at King’s College London, said the latest Israeli strikes appeared to be a “performative escalation for now”.
“They deliberately hit open areas near or in the defence academy in Syria, rather than looking to demolish the structure and cause significant casualties,” he said.
Pinfold said Israel’s strikes on Syrian troop positions in Suwayda had also begun with “performative” actions, before escalating into “which have killed unprecedented numbers”.
“This could be the thin end of the wedge here,” he said of the Damascus strikes. “We are very, very close to Israel launching more prolonged, more direct and more dangerous, damaging strikes through Syria.”
Ceasefire collapses
Sectarian violence in Suwayda resumed in full force earlier on Wednesday, despite the announcement of a ceasefire by the Syrian government the previous night, Syria’s Defence Ministry told media. Ministry officials blamed groups “outside the law” for breaking the ceasefire and attacking government troops, who they said were responding to fire while taking measures to protect civilians.
The ministry told media it had opened safe corridors in the city for civilians to flee.
Speaking from Damascus, media’s Bin Javaid said at least 70 people were believed to have been killed in the fighting so far. Medical sources in the city say more than 200 people have been injured in the violence.
Meanwhile, the UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces. The observatory added that at least 21 people were killed in “field executions”.
The fighting has led to chaotic scenes along Israel’s border with Syria. Large numbers of Israeli Druze gathered there, with some crossing into Syria to support Druze groups there, while hundreds gathered on the other side of the fence.
The Israeli military said it had identified dozens of individuals trying to cross from Syria into Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed directly to Israel’s Druze community not to cross the border.
“You can be kidnapped, and you hurt the [Israeli army’s] efforts,” said Netanyahu. “So I ask you – go back to your homes, let the [army] act.”
Israeli air attacks continue
On top of the clashes on the ground and the strikes on Damascus, Israel has continued its air raids around Suwayda, with Israel launching a series of strikes early on Wednesday followed by a second barrage later. The Israeli military said it was targeting tanks, rocket launchers, weapons and pickup trucks with heavy machine guns making their way to Suwayda.
In a threat to Syria before launching the attacks on Damascus, Katz said government forces must be withdrawn from Suwayda, or Israel would ramp up its attacks.
“As we have made clear and warned – Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on,” he said.
Syria has condemned Israel’s intervention as a violation of international law, as have several Arab nations. Israel has also been attacking other areas of Syria regularly since longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was deposed in December, claiming it is targeting weapons sites. The Israeli government has dismissed the fledgling Syrian government of Ahmed al-Sharaa as “extremists”.
The United States has revoked its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) as Washington softens its approach to post-war Syria. The decision earlier this month is part of US President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to re-engage with Syria and support its reconstruction after more than a decade of conflict.
Footage of abuses prompting violence
The outbreak of violence in the southern city on Sunday was triggered by a wave of recent kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed groups, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.
Syria’s Druze population numbers about 700,000, with Suwayda home to the sect’s largest community. Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Suwayda, with violence occasionally erupting.
Bin Javaid said tensions in the latest outbreak of violence had been inflamed by material of killings and abuses posted on social media. “That created a flurry of reaction… from both sides,” he said.
Geist Pinfold told media that the situation in Suwayda had evolved into “an extremely complicated dynamic”.
“What began as an act of petty crime has now degenerated into mass killings with a sectarian dimension, and of course the threat of further Israeli military action looming,” he said.
Since the overthrow of al-Assad, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.
Samy Akil, a political analyst and academic specialising in Syrian affairs, told media that the Syrian government’s failure to deliver on an inclusive political model played a large role in the unrest.
“It has not been able to … back the talk basically with tangible evidence on the ground, particularly when it comes to an inclusive … governing system that incorporates a clear power-sharing structure where all segments of Syrian society are represented,” Akil said.
Clashes between government troops and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.
The Druze developed their own militias during the nearly 14-year ruinous civil war. Since al-Assad’s fall, Druze factions have been at odds over whether to integrate with the new government and armed forces.
Geist Pinfold told media that Israel had been working closely with an influential Druze sheikh, Hikmat al-Hijri, who has been a key player in the escalation of the situation in Suwayda following the initial abduction on Friday.
“It was his forces that took government buildings … within Suwayda and it was then that Israel chose to act to defend him from Syrian security services,” said Pinfold.
Israel’s response to the situation showed it had not taken the opportunity for a reset with Syria’s new government and to work towards a stabilisation of relations, he added.
Instead, by launching attacks, he said, Israel had opted to continue with the status quo: “Its pursuit of military hegemony and extended occupation of Syrian territory”.
