Israel confirms strike near Syrian presidential palace to support Druze community | World News
JERUSALEM/Damascus: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Israel carried out overnight attacks near the presidential palace in the Syrian capital Damascus. The strike comes after a deadly clash earlier this week between local Druze fighters and pro-government forces in southern Damascus.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime,” the Israeli statement said. “We will not allow troops in southern Damascus and any danger to the Druze community.” Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) said the Israeli air strikes targeted a location near the Syrian presidential residence in Damascus earlier on Friday, causing a huge explosion, but no immediate casualties.
The Observatory described the strikes as “warning messages” because they occurred in one of the most intensified and symbolic places in the Syrian government. Syrian authorities have not commented on the Israeli air strikes.
Amid sectarian turmoil, two injured Druze Syrians evacuated Ziv Medical Center in Safed in northern Israel for medical treatment on Thursday. On the same day, Katz warned that a harsh response would occur in Syria if there was a conflict with the Druze community.
According to reports from Israeli media, hundreds of Israeli Druze protesters were displayed in front of the Netanyahu private residence in Caesarea, a coastal town in northern Netanyahu, demanding that the Israeli army intervene and protect the Syrian Druyes.
Thousands of Druze residents blocked major highways on the streets of Northern Israel earlier Thursday night, Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to Thursday's SOHR update, the death toll in two days of sectarian clashes near Damascus has climbed to 101, including nine live executions.
The Druzes live mainly in Lebanon, Syria and Israel, and there are smaller groups in Jordan. Israel has been working to consolidate its ties with the Druze community since the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in December 2024.
