&w=3840&q=100)
Syria vs Druze: How did Israel get involved?
Soldiers inspect the damaged Syrian Defence Ministry building allegedly hit by several Israeli airstrikes, in Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday, July 16. AP
It began as a local conflict in southern Syria between local Druze and Bedouin communities. However, it escalated into Israel bombing Syria's Ministry of Defence and other targets, forcing foreign intervention from the United States.
Now, the Syrian army has announced that it is withdrawing from violence-hit Sweida shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, 'We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.'
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
But what exactly happened in Syria? Why did Israel bomb its neighbouring country? We unpack the complex situation unfolding in that part of the world.
What led to new violence between Syria and Israel?
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, the recent violence began in Sweida after members of a Bedouin tribe set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man over the weekend, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.
For those unaware, the Druze are a religious sect that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria.
Members of the Druze minority and their supporters protest outside the US Embassy in Jerusalem, amid the clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. AP
This led to government security forces being deployed in the area. However, they were seen as siding with the Bedouin tribes. The Syrian observatory reported that around 300 people have died in the clashes, with 27 of them being 'summarily executed'. In fact, videos and reports have emerged that show government forces burning and looting houses and humiliating Druze men by forcibly shaving their moustaches.
Then, how did Israel get involved in the conflict?
On July 15, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish nation is 'committed to preventing harm to the Druze due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria.'
Shortly later, Israel launched aerial strikes at Syria, bombing several Syrian military positions in Sweida. 'We will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria,' said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, adding his country will 'not stand idly by'.
But critics note that Israel is engaging in the 'divide and rule' policy in Syria with the aim of weakening the new government. Moreover, it's trying to create a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights — originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
In fact, since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad last December, Israel has been carrying out hundreds of strikes against military sites in Syria, claiming its goal was to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new government.
What happened next?
Since Monday (July 14), Israel has been targeting Syria — the Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct dozens of drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers.
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on Syria's defence ministry in Damascus. Reuters
But on Wednesday, it escalated its attacks, striking twice. The Jewish nation struck the headquarters of the Syrian army in Damascus, a compound that also houses the defence ministry. Witnesses told AFP that they heard an explosion in the area of the presidential palace, where the Israeli military said it had struck a 'military target'.
In one video on social media, a television reporter can be seen running for cover as strikes hit the buildings behind her, while warplanes can be heard swooping low over the capital.
Footage shows the moment of the Israeli airstrike in Damascus a short while ago. https://t.co/x08ISPkg1R pic.twitter.com/4fifRF0eNV — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 16, 2025
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Katz later added troops would 'operate forcefully in Sweida to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal'.
The Israeli defence minister said that 'the signals to Damascus are over — now come the painful blows', sharing Syrian television footage of an explosion in Damascus on his X account.
Has a truce been declared? Will Israel abide by it?
On Wednesday, amid Israel's heavy bombing, Syrian government officials and the Druze announced a renewed ceasefire. The Syrian army 'has begun withdrawing from the city of Sweida in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement, after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups,' a defence ministry statement said.
Announcing the new ceasefire on Wednesday, Syria's interior ministry said there would be a 'total and immediate halt to all military operations', as well as the formation of a committee comprising government representatives and Druze spiritual leaders to supervise its implementation.
People gather, near the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, amid the ongoing conflict in the Druze areas in Syria, in Majdal Shams. Reuters
Later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on X that all sides had 'agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end'.
'This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do,' he wrote, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
However, Israel has not yet commented on the ceasefire bid. In fact, Israeli strikes continued even after the ceasefire announcement.
After the ceasefire announcement, Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in a televised address said that protecting the Druze citizens and their rights is 'our priority'.
In a veiled dig at Israel, he added, 'We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction.
He further expanded, saying that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened.
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
Spy cockroaches and AI robots: Germany plots the future of warfare
Two of three European defence "unicorns" are German Government more supportive of defence startups, CEOs say Govt creating fast track to bypass procurement red tape, sources say Smaller firms advising govt alongside Rheinmetall, source says By Supantha Mukherjee, Sarah Marsh and Christoph Steitz MUNICH/BERLIN/FRANKFURT, July 23 (Reuters) - For Gundbert Scherf - the co-founder of Germany's Helsing, Europe's most valuable defence start-up - Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Scherf had to fight hard to attract investment after starting his company - which produces military strike drones and battlefield AI - four years ago. Now, that's the least of his problems. The Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month. "Europe this year, for the first time in decades, is spending more on defense technology acquisition than the U.S.," said Scherf. The former partner at McKinsey & Company says Europe may be on the cusp of a transformation in defence innovation akin to the Manhattan Project - the scientific push that saw the U.S. rapidly develop nuclear weapons during World War Two. "Europe is now coming to terms with defense." Reuters spoke to two dozens executives, investors and policymakers to examine how Germany - Europe's largest economy - aims to play a central role in the rearming the continent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government views AI and start-up technology as key to its defence plans and is slashing bureaucracy to connect startups directly to the upper echelons of its military, the sources told Reuters. Shaped by the trauma of Nazi militarism and a strong postwar pacifist ethos, Germany long maintained a relatively small and cautious defence sector, sheltered by U.S. security guarantees. Germany's business model, shaped by a deep aversion to risk, has also favoured incremental improvements over disruptive innovation. No more. With U.S. military support now more uncertain, Germany - one of the biggest backers of Ukraine - plans to nearly triple its regular defence budget to around 162 billion euros ($175 billion) per year by 2029. Much of that money will go into reinventing the nature of warfare, the sources said. Helsing is part of a wave of German defence start-ups developing cutting-edge technology, from tank-like AI robots and unmanned mini-submarines to battle-ready spy cockroaches. "We want to help give Europe its spine back," said Scherf. Some of these smaller firms are now advising the government alongside established firms - so-called primes such as Rheinmetall and Hensoldt - that have less incentive to focus primarily on innovation, given their long backlogs for conventional systems, one of the sources said. A new draft procurement law, expected to be approved by Merz's cabinet on Wednesday, aims to reduce hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups to join tenders by enabling advance payment to these firms, according to a version dated June 25, reviewed by Reuters. The law would also entitle authorities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union. Marc Wietfeld, CEO and founder of autonomous robots maker ARX Robotics, said a recent meeting with German defence minister Boris Pistorius hammered home how deep the rethink in Berlin goes. "He told me: 'Money is no longer an excuse - it's there now'. That was a turning point," he said. Since Donald Trump's return to the political stage and his renewed questioning of America's commitment to NATO, Germany has committed to meet the alliance's new target of 3.5% of GDP on defense spending by 2029 - faster than most European allies. Officials in Berlin have emphasized the need to foster a European defence industry rather than rely on U.S. companies. But the hurdles towards scaling up industry champions in Germany - and Europe more broadly - are considerable. Unlike in the United States, the market is fragmented in Europe. Each country has its own set of procurement standards to fulfill contracts. The United States, the world's top military spender, already has an established stable of defence giants, like Lockheed Martin and RTX, and an advantage in key areas, including satellite technology, fighter jets and precise-guided munitions. Washington also began boosting defence tech startups in 2015 - including Shield AI, drone maker Anduril and software company Palantir - by awarding them parts of military contracts. European startups until recently languished with little government support. But an analysis by Aviation Week in May showed Europe's 19 top defence spenders - including Turkey and Ukraine - were projected to spend 180.1 billion this year on military procurement compared, to 175.6 billion for the United States. Washington's overall military spending will remain higher. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, head of Germany's security and defence sector association BDSV, said one challenge was that the military's procurement system was geared toward established suppliers and not well suited to the fast pace that new technologies require. Germany's defence ministry said in a statement it was taking steps to accelerate procurement and to better integrate startups in order to make new technologies quickly available to the Bundeswehr. Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the armed forces' powerful procurement agency, highlighted drones and AI as emerging fields that Germany needs to develop. "The changes they're bringing to the battlefield are as revolutionary as the introduction of the machine gun, tank, or airplane," she told Reuters. Sven Weizenegger, who heads up the Cyber Innovation hub, the Bundeswehr's innovation accelerator, said the war in Ukraine was also changing social attitudes, removing a stigma towards working in the defence sector. "Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion," he said. Weizenegger said he was receiving 20-30 Linkedin requests a day, compared to maybe 2-3 weekly back in 2020, with ideas for defence technology to develop. Some of the ideas under development feel akin to science fiction – like Swarm Biotactics' cyborg cockroaches that are equipped with specialised miniature backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras for example. Electrical stimuli should allow humans to control the insects' movements remotely. The aim is for them to provide surveillance information in hostile environments - for example information about enemy positions. "Our bio-robots - based on living insects - are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules," said CEO Stefan Wilhelm. "They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms. In the first half of the 20th century, German scientists pioneered many military technologies that became global standards, from ballistic missiles to jet aircraft and guided weapons. But following its defeat in World War II, Germany was demilitarized and its scientific talent was dispersed. Wernher von Braun, who invented the first ballistic missile for the Nazis, was one of hundreds of German scientists and engineers transported to the United States in the wake of World War II, where he later worked at NASA and developed the rocket that took Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In recent decades, defence innovation has been a powerful driver of economic progress. Tech like the internet, GPS, semiconductors and jet engines originated in military research programs before transforming civilian life. Hit by high energy prices, a slowdown in demand for its exports and competition from China, Germany's $4.75 trillion economy contracted over the last two years. Expanding military research could provide an economic fillip. "We just need to get to this mindset: a strong defense industrial base means a strong economy and innovation on steroids," said Markus Federle, managing partner at defence-focused investment firm Tholus Capital. ESCAPING 'THE VALLEY OF DEATH' Risk aversion among European investors had in the past disadvantaged startups, which struggled to get the capital they need to survive the 'valley of death' – the critical early stage when costs are high and sales low. But a boost in defence spending by European governments following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has investors looking for opportunities. Europe now boasts three start-ups with a unicorn valuation of more than $1 billion: Helsing, German drone maker Quantum Systems, and Portugal's Tekever, which also manufactures drones. "There's a lot of pressure now on Germany being the lead nation of the European defense," said Sven Kruck, Quantum's chief strategy officer. Germany has become Ukraine's second-biggest military backer after the United States. Orders that might once have taken years to approve now take months and European startups have had the opportunity to test their products quickly in the field, several sources said. Venture capital funding of European defence tech hit $1 billion in 2024, up from a modest $373 million in 2022, and is expected to surge even more this year. "Society has recognized that we have to defend our democracies," said Christian Saller, general partner at HV Capital, an investor in both ARX and Quantum Systems. Venture capital funding has grown faster in Germany than elsewhere, according to a data analysis by Dealroom for Reuters. German defence startups have received $1.4 billion in the last five years from investors, followed by UK, the data shows. Jack Wang, partner at venture capital firm Project A, said many German defence startups - rooted in the country's engineering prowess - are good at integrating established components into scalable systems. "Quality of talent in Europe is extremely high, but as a whole, there's no better country, no better talent that we've seen other than in Germany," he said. Weakness in Germany's automotive industry means there is production capacity to spare, including in the Mittelstand: the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of Germany's economy. Stefan Thumann, CEO of Bavarian startup Donaustahl, which produces loitering munitions, said he receives 3 to 5 applications daily from workers at automotive companies. "The startups just need the brains to do the engineering and prototyping," he said. "And the German Mittelstand will be their muscles." ($1 = 0.8560 euros) (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Munich, Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Additional Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin; Editing by Kenneth Li and Daniel Flynn)


Mint
33 minutes ago
- Mint
PM Modi to speak on Operation Sindoor in Parliament next week: Reports
Parliament Monsoon Session: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak in Parliament on Operation Sindoor next week, reports said on July 23. News agency ANI said Operation Sindoor will be discussed in Parliament next week and in the Rajya Sabha on July 29. The decision was taken during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the upper house on July 23. However, the government has denied the Opposition's demand for a farewell speech by former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar. The government agreed to the Opposition's demand that the seven MPs who would be retiring be allowed to make farewell speeches. Earlier, the Business Advisory Committee meeting of the Lok Sabha was held on Monday. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has agreed to a 16-hour discussion in the Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack. However, this discussion will likely be taken up next week after PM Modi returns from his UK-Maldives tour. The opposition INDIA bloc has, however, insisted that the debate should start this week and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must reply. Protests by Opposition parties disrupted both houses of Parliament on all the three days of session so far. A report in NDTV said PM will speak in Parliament next week. Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence over US President Donald Trump's repeated "ceasefire" claims. Suggesting that one can't hide from reality, he said that the entire world knows that Trump announced a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan. "How can the Prime Minister give a statement? Kya bolenge PM, ki Trump ne karwaya hai? (What will he say? That Trump has announced it? He can't say it, but it is the truth. The entire world knows that Trump has announced a ceasefire. We can't hide from reality," Gandhi told reporters here. "This is not only about a ceasefire. There are several major issues that we would like to discuss related to defence, defence manufacturing, and Operation Sindoor. The condition is not normal; the entire nation knows," he added. Gandhi said the Prime Minister has not been able to provide a single response to Trump's claims about a ceasefire, which he has reiterated 25 times so far.


News18
44 minutes ago
- News18
Officials say Syria has asked Turkiye for defence support amid sectarian clashes
Agency: PTI Ankara, Jul 23 (AP) Syria's interim government has requested Turkiye's support to strengthen its defence capabilities, Turkish officials said, following sectarian violence over the past two weeks that increased tensions in Syria and drew intervention by Israel. The defence ministry officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to procedures, said Wednesday that Syria has also sought assistance to combat 'terrorist organisations," including the Islamic State group. Turkiye — which has long expressed readiness to assist Syria — was working toward providing training, advisory services and technical support to help strengthen Syria's defence capacity, the officials added. Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.