As Syrian regime forces continue their deadly assaults on the country’s Druze population, the Israeli air force has struck the military headquarters in Damascus.
“A security source has confirmed that the IDF carried out strikes in Damascus, Syria, near a central military base belonging to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s regime,” the Israel National News reported Tuesday.
The Israeli airstrike at the heart of the Syrian regime’s military establishment comes amid reports that the Islamist-led regime forces were stepping up attacks on the country’s non-Muslim Druze minority, concentrated in southern Syria.
The precision airstrike, which struck the entrance of Syria’s military headquarters and did not hit any strategic target, was apparently meant as a warning to the Islamist regime in Damascus.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria.”
Distressed by the reports of mass killings and forced displacement of Druze in the neighboring country, hundreds of Israeli Druze civilians tried to cross over into Syria on Tuesday, vowing to defend members of their community. “There is chaos on the Israeli-Syrian border, as dozens of Druze civilians breach the border barrier and enter Syria,” The Times of Israel reported. “Footage shows hundreds of people gathered in the area.”
The Israeli military, which created a buffer zone on the Syrian border after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, struck regime forces advancing on Druze population centers in the south of the country.
“Over the past day, the IDF has struck and continues to strike tanks, rocket launchers, weapons, and pickup trucks loaded with heavy machine guns on their way to the As Suwayda area in southern Syria,” the Israeli military disclosed Tuesday. “Additionally, routes were struck in order block access to the area.”
In a separate statement, the military announced that it had “decided to reinforce its forces in the area of the Syrian border.”
The military confirmed that “several Israeli civilians crossed the border fence into Syrian territory in the area of Majdal Shams.” The troops on the border were “operating to safely return the civilians who crossed the border,” the IDF reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, issued a statement to reassure Israel’s Druze minority.
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to widen the military intervention in Syria to protect the Druze if the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led Islamist regime did not stop its murderous campaign, the Israeli news website Ynetnews reported:
In a statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “My Druze brothers, citizens of Israel — the situation in Sweida, in southwestern Syria, is extremely grave.”The IDF is operating, the Air Force is operating, and other forces are operating. We are acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime’s militias.”And now I have one request of you: You are citizens of Israel. Do not cross the border.”You are endangering your lives — you could be killed, you could be kidnapped, and you are undermining the IDF’s efforts. Therefore, I ask you — return to your homes and let the IDF carry out its mission.” (…)Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned overnight that Israel would escalate military operations if Syrian regime forces do not withdraw:“The Syrian regime must leave the Druze in Sweida alone and pull back its forces,” Katz said. “Israel will not abandon the Druze and will enforce its policy of demilitarization. The IDF will continue striking regime forces until they retreat and will soon raise the level of responses if the message is not understood.”
With Hamas refusing to negotiate the release of hostages, the Israeli military continued counter-terrorism operations in Gaza. The “IDF troops continue their operational activity against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” the military said Wednesday.
Besides the ongoing ground operation, the Israeli air force hit Hamas targets across Gaza. “Over the past day, the IAF struck over 120 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including terrorist cells, military structures, weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, and additional terror infrastructure sites,” the military added.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY