Egypt Daily News – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that Israel launched more than 20 airstrikes in Syria, describing them as “the most intense since the beginning of the year.” The strikes came amid tensions between Syrian authorities and the Druze community. According to the Observatory, the Israeli airstrikes targeted military sites across Syria on Friday night into Saturday.
The official Syrian news agency (SANA) reported that a civilian was killed in the strikes, while the Israeli military confirmed that it had targeted military infrastructure around Damascus and other areas of Syria.
The Observatory added that “more than 20 Israeli strikes hit Daraa, the Damascus countryside, and Hama, targeting warehouses and military centers,” in addition to strikes in the countryside of Hama and Latakia. The Observatory described the airstrikes as “the most violent since the beginning of the year.”
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on platform X that a “military site, anti-aircraft defenses, and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria” were targeted. The latest Israeli strikes came about a day after a raid early Friday near the presidential palace in Damascus.
Observers see the strikes as the clearest warning yet to the new Syrian authorities, headed by transitional president Ahmad Shar’a, of Israel’s readiness to escalate militarily, including carrying out strikes it claims are in support of the Druze minority in Syria.
The Syrian presidency condemned the strikes in a statement, saying they targeted the presidential palace and describing them as “a serious escalation against state institutions and its sovereignty.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned “Israel’s violations of Syria’s sovereignty,” adding through his spokesperson that “it is essential that these attacks stop and that Israel respects Syria’s sovereignty.”
The strikes came after clashes between Druze gunmen and security forces near Damascus and in the south of the country, along the border with Israel, which left over 100 people dead in two days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow Syrian forces to deploy south of Damascus or threaten the Druze community in any way.”
Hours after Israel announced its strikes on Damascus, the German Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that “Syria must not become a theater for regional tensions.”
Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel—viewing the new authorities in Damascus with suspicion—has carried out hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria, justifying them as efforts to prevent weapons from reaching the new authorities, whom it describes as “jihadist.” Israel has also deployed forces to the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights.
Following Assad’s ouster, the various Druze armed factions, which are not unified under a single leadership, did not reach a full agreement with the new authorities. However, hundreds of fighters from two main factions have joined the General Security and the Ministry of Defense. The Druze population is spread across Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and the occupied Golan Heights.
The new authorities have pledged to protect all sects amid minority concerns, while the international community pushes for inclusive participation in the transitional phase.
The escalation involving the Druze came more than a month after bloody violence in Syria’s coastal region that killed about 1,700 people—mostly Alawites—highlighting the challenges facing Ahmad Shar’a’s administration.
