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Israel attacks Syrian military HQ in Damascus - and issues warning to leave religious minority group alone

Israel attacks Syrian military HQ in Damascus - and issues warning to leave religious minority group alone

Yahoo16 hours ago
Israeli airstrikes have targeted the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus amid renewed clashes in the country.
The gate of the Ministry of Defence in the Syrian capital was targeted by two warning missiles from an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft.
State-owned Elekhbariya TV said the Israeli strike had wounded two civilians, the Reuters news agency reported.
It came as Israeli airstrikes targeted security and army vehicles in the southern city of Sweida, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups - marking the third consecutive day Israel has struck Syrian forces.
The Israeli military confirmed it had "struck the entrance gate" in Damascus - and that it would be monitoring "actions being taken against Druze civilians in southern Syria".
Local media said Sweida and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The clashes marked the collapse of a ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups, with Israel also warning it would increase its involvement.
Israel said it was acting to protect the Druze groups through its attacks on convoys of Syrian forces.
Syria blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement which had only been reached on Tuesday.
Read more from Sky News:
A statement from its defence ministry said: "Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes."
Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said the military will continue to strike Syrian forces until they withdraw and should "leave Druze alone", according to local reports.
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Who are the Druze? The Druze are an Arab sect of roughly one million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In southern Syria, where the Druze form a majority in the Suwayda province, the community was at times caught between the forces of the former Assad regime and extremist groups during Syria's ten-year civil war. Originating in Egypt in the 11th century, the group practices an offshoot of Islam which permits no converts – either to or from the religion – and no intermarriage. In Syria, the Druze community is concentrated around three main provinces close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south of the country. More than 20,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel seized from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, before formally annexing it in 1981. Druze share the territory with around 25,000 Jewish settlers, spread across more than 30 settlements. 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A statement issued by other Druze leaders however welcomed the Syrian government intervention in Suwayda and called on the state to assert its authority. It also called for armed groups in the city to hand over weapons to government forces and for a dialogue to begin with Damascus. Could Israel strike a deal with a country it keeps bombing? Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel has both seized more territory in Syria and repeatedly launched strikes on the country, with the stated aim of preventing the reconstruction of military capabilities and rooting out militancy that could threaten its security. The Israeli attacks have continued despite its closest ally, the United States, pushing for Israel to normalize relations with Syria now that it is under the control of a new government. The US has been trying to steer countries in the region towards a different path and envisions Syria signing onto the Abraham Accords – a series of agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab countries. A senior administration official told CNN last month that it is 'to Syria's benefit to lean towards Israel.' In May, US President Donald Trump held a meeting with Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the first high-level US-Syria meeting for decades. Trump announced the lifting of US sanctions against Syria just before the meeting, a move celebrated in Syria and seen as a step towards reintegrating the country into the international community. Israel has indicated its inclination to expand those agreements. After its deadly conflict with Iran, Netanyahu said the Israeli 'victory' paved a way for the 'dramatic expansion of the peace agreements' adding that Israel is 'working on this vigorously.' Israel has held direct and indirect talks with the new Syrian government, an indication of shifting dynamics between the former foes since the fall of the Assad regime. But Israel's repeated attacks on Syrian territory and its expanded military presence in the country have the potential to complicate those ambitions. In May, al-Sharaa said the indirect talks with Israel were meant to bring an end to the attacks. But that hasn't happened. Netanyahu has previously referred to the new Damascus government as an 'extremist Islamic regime' and a threat to the state of Israel. In May, an Israeli official told CNN that the prime minister had asked Trump not to remove sanctions on Syria, saying he feared it would lead to a repeat of the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel. Israel's strikes on Syria also complicate al-Sharaa's efforts to consolidate authority over the country and promote a potential normalization deal as a victory for Syria's sovereignty and its people. This story has been updated with additional developments.

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