Israeli army attacks Syrian army headquarters in Damascus
The Israeli army struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria, an Israeli statement said.
'The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime's actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios.'
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Khaleej Times
41 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
Syria: Death toll from violence in the south tops 1,000, says monitor
Calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, a monitor reported, after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups that killed more than 1,000 people. A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals the Druze and the Bedouin that spiralled to draw in the Islamist-led government, the Israeli military and armed tribes from other parts of Syria. AFP correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported hearing no clashes on Sunday morning, with government forces deployed in some locations in the province to enforce the truce and at least one humanitarian convoy headed for the Druze-majority city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that since around midnight, "Sweida has been experiencing a cautious calm", adding government security forces had blocked roads leading to the province in order to prevent tribal fighters from going there. The Britain-based Observatory gave an updated toll on Sunday of more than 1,000 killed since the violence erupted a week ago, including 336 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the minority group, as well as 342 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin. Witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida days ago. Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP that "the city hasn't seen calm like this in a week". 'Totally calm' The interior ministry said overnight that Sweida city was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted". The Observatory had said Druze fighters retook control of the city on Saturday evening. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had on Saturday announced a fresh ceasefire in Sweida and renewed a pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities in the face of the latest sectarian violence since Islamists overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. A spokesman for Syria's tribal and clan council told Al-Jazeera late Saturday that fighters had left the city "in response to the call of the presidency and the terms of the agreement". Another medic inside Sweida told AFP by telephone on Sunday that "the situation is totally calm... We aren't hearing clashes." "No medical or relief assistance has entered until now," the medic added, requesting anonymity due to the security situation. Inside the city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water, and food supplies have also been scarce. State news agency SANA published images showing medical aid being prepared near the health ministry in Damascus and quoted Health Minister Musab al-Ali as saying assistance would be delivered to Sweida's main hospital, where bodies have piled up. 'Critical juncture' US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Sunday that the country stood at a "critical juncture", adding that "peace and dialogue must prevail -- and prevail now". "All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance," he wrote on X, saying "brutal acts by warring factions on the ground undermine the government's authority and disrupt any semblance of order". Sharaa's announcement Saturday came hours after the United States said it had negotiated a ceasefire between Syria's government and Israel, which had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier in the week. Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it was acting in defence of the group, as well as to enforce its demands for the total demilitarisation of Syria's south. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday urged the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres" in the south, and called on Damascus to "bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks".
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
More than 1,000 dead in week of fighting in Syria's Sweida
More than a thousand people are believed to have been killed in a week of fighting in Syria's Sweida, even as an uneasy truce reigned across the governorate on Sunday. Humanitarian convoys were readying to enter Sweida to ease the impact of days of sectarian violence that broke out last weekend between Syrian Bedouin, Druze and government forces. Since midnight, "Sweida has been relatively calm", the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights (SOHR) reported, saying more than a thousand people had been killed over the past week. The deaths included 336 Druze fighters and 298 Druze civilians, 194 of whom were "summarily executed by members of the Defense and Interior Ministries". Also among the dead were 342 members of government security forces and 21 Bedouin, including three civilians, who were "summarily executed by Druze fighters". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In addition, 15 members of government forces were killed in Israeli strikes, according to the SOHR. The observatory said security forces had blocked roads leading to the province on Sunday to prevent the arrival of factional fighters. The interior ministry announced overnight that the city had been evacuated of all tribal fighters and that the clashes had ceased following President Ahmed al-Sharaa's announcement of a ceasefire on Saturday. A spokesperson for the Syrian Council of Tribes and Clans told Al-Jazeera that the fighters had left the city "in response to the presidency's call and in accordance with the terms of the agreement". Residents have been left confined to their homes without electricity and water, while food supplies are scarce. The US special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, said on Sunday that the country was at a "critical moment", calling for "peace and dialogue to prevail". "All factions must lay down their arms," he wrote on X. Fighting between Druze factions, Bedouin groups and troops loyal to Sharaa's administration has rocked the region since last weekend, exacerbated by Israeli air strikes. The Druze of Sweida had largely stayed out of Syria's 14-year civil war, and the governorate saw protests over living conditions in the last few years of former President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Following his ouster in December, many Druze have remained wary of the new government led by Sharaa, the former leader of an al-Qaeda affiliate that carried out sectarian attacks on the community during the war. Although Sharaa has rejected his previous affiliation and attempted to rebuild ties, several groups in Sweida have actively opposed his government. Israel has also spent several days attacking Syria, citing the defence of the Druze community. On Saturday, Washington declared it had brokered a truce between Israel and Syria to avoid further escalation. Israel had bombed government positions in Sweida and Damascus earlier in the week, with some targeting the Syrian defence ministry, military headquarters and the vicinity of the presidential palace.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
US condemns attack on West Bank church as 'an act of terror'
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank to be prosecuted, calling it "an act of terror". Mr Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers started a fire near a cemetery and the fifth-century Church of St George on July 8. "It is an act of terror and it is a crime," Mr Huckabee said. "Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – [should] be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that's not enough." Israel 's government has not commented on the incident but has previously denounced such acts. Mr Huckabee said he had asked Israel to "aggressively investigate" the killing of a Palestinian-American beaten by settlers in the West Bank, describing it also as a "criminal and terrorist act". The ambassador is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the occupied territory have risen since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023, though hostility has long simmered there. The UN's highest court said last year that Israel's settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, are illegal. Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security needs.
