Israel carried out renewed airstrikes on Thursday in the province of Sweida, in southern Syria , according to information from the official Syrian news agency SANA. The airstrike targeted the outskirts of the city of Sweida, capital of the province of the same name, hours after Syrian government forces withdrew following several days of clashes with local fighters and the entry into force of a ceasefire.
According to SANA, “Israeli occupation aircraft carried out an attack on the outskirts of the city of Sweida.” The agency did not specify the exact targets of the bombing or offer details on casualties or damaged infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that the attack targeted a group of Bedouins, who had been involved in armed clashes with the Druze minority in Sweida in the preceding days. According to the organization, the Bedouin community engaged in intense clashes with the Druze, whom Israel has repeatedly declared it protects.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of seeking to break up Syria and vowed that his government would protect the Druze minority at a time of heightened international pressure. Al-Sharaa's stance came after the United States intervened diplomatically to broker a truce between government forces and Druze fighters.
Syrian government troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze town of Sweida overnight on Wednesday after intense clashes that left dozens dead. More than 60 bodies were seen in the town's streets, local journalist Ryan Marouf of Suwayda24 reported, as quoted by Reuters. Marouf said the victims of a family found dead in a house included women and an elderly man.
Hostilities did not cease entirely with the withdrawal of government troops. A Bedouin military commander announced a new offensive in Sweida against Druze fighters and asserted that the truce only affected government forces, not his group. The Bedouin, a predominantly Sunni and farming community, have a long-standing dispute with the Druze and have said they are seeking the release of their detained comrades. This week's clashes prompted the deployment of government troops to the area, escalating the violence until the ceasefire was declared.
On Wednesday, Israel also bombed government forces positions in Damascus and the south of the country, demanding the withdrawal of these troops and arguing that its objective is to protect the Druze minority, a community with a presence in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
In this context, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday that"the United States did not support the recent Israeli attacks." Bruce added: "We are diplomatically engaged with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the current crisis and to reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states." Asked whether Washington had expressed its displeasure to Israel or would oppose future attacks on Syrian territory, Bruce declined to respond.
The successive attacks reflect the ongoing instability in Syria following Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship and the rise of new leaders, whom Israel accuses of jihadism. Israel has intensified bombing operations in Syria throughout the year, claiming to prohibit hostile forces from entering its borders. The situation highlights the Syrian government's difficulty in reestablishing centralized control and the influence of regional and global actors in the conflict.
