Israel bombs an area near the presidential palace in Damascus
In fulfillment of its threat to launch retaliatory strikes “if the Syrian government doesn’t protect the Druze minority” in the country, the Israeli military announced early Friday morning that it had raided an area adjacent to the presidential palace in Damascus.
This bombing came shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would respond forcefully if the Syrian government failed to protect the Druze minority, following two days of bloody clashes near Damascus.
“If attacks on the Druze resume and the Syrian regime fails to prevent them, Israel will respond with great force,” Katz said in a statement.
Following the raid early Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Katz, “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime… We’ll not allow (Syrian) forces to deploy south of Damascus or to threaten the Druze community in any way”.
The escalation against the Druze comes more than a month after bloody violence in the Syrian coastal region killed approximately 1,700 people, the vast majority of them Alawites.
This violence highlighted the challenges facing the administration of interim President Ahmad al Sharaa as it seeks to consolidate its rule and establish a framework for relations with various communities following the overthrow of Bashar al Assad in December.
