Syria appears to be on Israel’s hit list now after a series of deadly air strikes were unleashed on the capital, Damascus, today.
The Israeli army said that it struck the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defence in Damascus today – a moment captured on live news feed, visibly startling a female anchor.
During her news segment, the building behind her exploded, shaking the studio. It comes as clashes have raged in the city of Sweida after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze militias failed.
The IDF has threatened to escalate its involvement after already striking convoys of Syrian government forces and beefing up its presence on the borders.
Israel is attacking Syria in the name of protecting the Druze religious minority, a religious sect that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam.
More than half of the one million Druze worldwide live in Syria, but most of the others live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981.
But tensions between Syria, the Druze minority and the Israelis are heightened.
Who are the Druze, and why is Israel striking Syria?
In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military, which has prompted the IDF to begin striking inside Syria.
Syria’s Defence Ministry had earlier blamed Druze militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached on Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire.
The latest violence comes months after rebels seized control of Damascus in an offensive that toppled the iron-fisted ‘tyrant’ President Bashar al-Assad — and took the world by surprise.
The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders of Syria have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities, and clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups have only increased fears.
The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province.
Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed with the Druze, while reports have surfaced of members of the security forces carrying out extra-judicial killings, looting and burning civilian homes.
The UK-based war monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said more than 250 people had been killed in Israeli strikes as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces.
In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country’s new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system.
Others, however, have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region.
What has Israel said?
On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli army ‘will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area – and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood’.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes are to ‘prevent the Syrian regime from harming the Druze religious minority’ and to disarm areas near Israel’s borders with Syria.
Meanwhile, Israeli cabinet member and minister of diaspora affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to be ‘eliminated’.
Earlier on Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and co-operate with authorities.
One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call.
Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men’s moustaches.
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