Shortly after Israeli forces launched several strikes on Damascus and Suweida, targeting the Syrian defense ministry and government positions, the United States declared on Wednesday that “specific steps” had been agreed upon to stop the rising violence in southern Syria.
The development coincides with a fatal escalation of sectarian violence in Suweida, a province primarily inhabited by Druze, where fighting between Bedouin tribes and Druze militias has reportedly claimed the lives of over 300 people on Sunday.
Speaking on X (previously Twitter), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed Washington’s “extreme concern” over the current state of affairs but expressed optimism that calm would soon return.
Without providing any other information, Rubio wrote late on Wednesday, “We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”
Later, the US and Arab mediation attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict were praised by Syrian state media.
Following an agreement with local Druze religious leaders, government forces have started to leave Suweida, according to the Syrian state news agency Sana. It was stated that the army’s withdrawal came after “the completion of the army’s pursuit of outlaw groups.”
The defense ministry is the target of Israeli strikes.
The Israeli military acknowledged Wednesday that it had carried out airstrikes on targets in Suweida and Damascus that it characterized as Syrian military objectives. According to reports, one of the attacks occurred close to the defense ministry’s entrance at Umayyad Square, a prominent and significant area in Damascus.
“Saving our Druze brothers and eliminating the regime’s gangs” is the stated goal of the operations, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the Israeli military would keep up its campaign “vigorously in Suweida” until all hostile soldiers were eliminated.
Katz also posted a video of a Syrian TV host jumping beneath her desk during a live broadcast when there were explosions, which were purportedly caused by an Israeli airstrike nearby.
Israel claimed to have also attacked a military facility close to the presidential palace, armored cars, and convoys carrying weaponry on their way to Suweida. The Syrian foreign ministry, meanwhile, denounced the strikes as a “flagrant assault” and a “blatant violation of international law,” charging Israel with trying to destabilize and cause turmoil in the nation.
Humanitarian consequences and sectarian strife
The kidnapping of a Druze businessman last Friday on the highway to Damascus is thought to have been the catalyst for the current fighting in Suweida. Tribal groups launched reprisal attacks after Druze fighters reportedly surrounded and then gained control of a Bedouin-majority neighborhood in Suweida city on Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), located in the United Kingdom, reports that at least 300 individuals have been murdered, including around 160 government personnel, 40 civilians, and 69 Druze fighters. However, the BBC pointed out that it was unable to independently confirm the numbers.
Suweida eyewitnesses recounted scenes of destruction and panic. Hosam, a local, informed the BBC that snipers had been shooting at city center residents. Today, I lost my neighbor. He was shot by a sniper. “We attempted to summon an ambulance, but we were unable to transport him to the hospital,” he stated.
Tanks shelling the national hospital in Suweida also caused widespread terror among patients and medical staff, according to SOHR. Government forces reportedly found “dozens of bodies” in the hospital after armed groups departed, according to a later statement from the Syrian health ministry.
Aid organizations have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis as severe shortages of energy, water, and medical supplies have been reported throughout the province.
Reactions on the political level
In a Thursday broadcast speech, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to hold anyone responsible for “abusing our Druze people” accountable. He declared that the government will not permit other parties to take advantage of the upheaval.
“We don’t share the fear of conflict. “We have prioritized the needs of Syrians over chaos and devastation,” he declared.
The Druze minority in Syria, who have always kept a wary distance from both the government and opposition forces, still lacks trust in the president despite his assurances. Recent sectarian conflicts and the existence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist organization that was once associated with al-Qaeda, in southern Syria have added to their worries.
Concerns regarding HTS’s operations in the area have been voiced by Israel. Citing the threat presented by Islamist groups close to Israel’s northern border, Netanyahu recently restated his call for the demilitarization of Suweida and two neighboring provinces.
Implications for the region
Since Bashar al-Assad’s administration fell in December, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, frequently focusing on Syrian military facilities and militias supported by Iran. However, by striking Syrian government institutions directly in the heart of Damascus, the most recent strikes represent a dramatic escalation.
Concerns over possible regional spillover have been raised by the Israeli military’s deployment of troops into the UN-monitored buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The situation in Suweida and the rest of southern Syria is still unstable, even though the specifics of the supposed truce are yet unknown. How far the parties involved are willing to de-escalate and if international mediation can impose long-lasting peace in a region shattered by sectarian mistrust and foreign interests are key factors, according to analysts.
