Israel “will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday evening.
He spoke after a situational assessment held at the IDF’s Camp Nafah, aka Camp Yitzhak, in the Golan Heights, on the backdrop of Israeli military strikes in Damascus sparked by regime-linked massacres of the Druze population in southern Syria.
“We are acting with determination to prevent hostile elements from establishing a presence beyond the border, to protect the citizens of the State of Israel, and to prevent the harming of Druze civilians,” said Zamir.
“We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold. We will not rely on anyone else, we will defend the communities along the border,” he added.
The IDF earlier on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to reports of atrocities against Druze civilians.
“Air Force aircraft have attacked over the past 24 hours—and continue to strike—tanks, rocket launchers, combat equipment and pickups armed with heavy machine guns making their way to the as-Sweida area of southern Syria,” the IDF announced in a separate statement.
Zamir held the assessment on Wednesday along with Deputy Chief Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, OC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, OC Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder and OC Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen.
“The commanders and soldiers are acting with responsibility, restraint and sound judgment, facing a community that is important to us, while maintaining security,” said Zamir.
“We are preparing for a significant reinforcement of defensive forces in the Golan Heights with a clear goal: to prevent any threat to the security of Israeli citizens and to protect, as much as possible, members of the Druze community in danger in Syria,” he added.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that IDF strikes on Syrian regime forces near as-Sweida would intensify if threats to the Druze population persist.
“The Syrian regime must leave the Druze in as-Sweida alone and withdraw its forces,” Katz said. He emphasized that Israel would not abandon the Druze community and would enforce its disarmament policy in the area.
“The IDF will continue to strike until regime forces withdraw—and will soon raise the level of its responses if the message is not understood,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced an agreement set to quell the recent violence in Syria.
“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria,” Rubio wrote. “We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”
He added that the agreement will “require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made; this is what we fully expect them to do.”
Syria reported on Thursday that regime forces had withdrawn from as-Sweida.
According to Ynet, the IDF Northern Command identified the first signs of the ceasefire taking hold overnight, with Israeli forces remaining on high alert and prepared to renew attacks if necessary. The high level of readiness will continue over the weekend, with reinforcement companies deployed on the Israeli side of the border.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa claimed on Thursday that protecting the Druze was “our priority.”
In a televised statement, al-Sharaa said that “the Israeli entity, known for its repeated attempts to destabilize us and sow division, once again seeks to turn our land into a battlefield of chaos and to dismantle the fabric of our people.”
He addressed Druze citizens, saying, “We reject any attempt to drag you into [the] hands of an external party.
“We are not among those who fear the war,” he continued. “We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction.”
On Tuesday, Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes against Syrian government troops in the as-Sweida city area of southern Syria’s Jabal al-Druze (“Druze Mountain”) region of the as-Sweida Governate, targeting armored vehicles and convoys sent by Damascus amid deadly sectarian clashes between Druze militias and forces loyal to the Sunni Islamist regime.
Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the IDF to “immediately strike regime forces and weaponry that were brought into the as-Sweida area of Syria’s Jabal al-Druze region for regime activity against the Druze.”
Damascus had violated “the demilitarization policy that was decided upon, which prohibits the entry of [regime] forces and arms into southern Syria that could endanger Israel,” the statement continued.
“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep fraternal alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, as well as their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Large columns of Syrian regime forces rolled into as-Sweida on Tuesday morning, a day after the Israeli Air Force attacked several tanks attempting to move to the Jabal al-Druze.
On Wednesday, Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli compared the violence against the Druze minority to the horrors of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“The Islamo-Nazis of al-Sharaa are forcing their victims to bark like dogs before murdering them,” Chikli wrote. “This is the October 7 of the Druze minority in Syria—and it’s simply astonishing to witness the total silence of Western leadership.”
Al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is a former Al-Qaeda terrorist.
Chikli criticized key international figures, including French President Emmanuel Macron and U.N. officials such as Secretary-General António Guterres and Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, for their silence in the face of such human rights abuses.
In a video address on Wednesday, Netanyahu appealed directly to Israeli Druze, warning against crossing into Syria to help relatives there.
“My Druze brothers, citizens of Israel. The situation in as-Sweida and southwest Syria is dire,” Netanyahu said. “The IDF, Air Force and other forces are in action. We’re working to save our Druze brothers and eliminate regime gangs. Now, I have one request for you. You are Israeli citizens. Do not cross the border. You’re putting your lives at risk. You could be killed, kidnapped, and you’re hindering the IDF’s efforts. So I’m asking you, return to your homes. Let the IDF do its job.”
Around 1,000 Israeli Druze crossed into Syrian territory and several hundred Syrian Druze entered Israel on Wednesday amid thousands of protesters at the border fence in the Golan Heights.
According to military estimates, there are only a few dozen Israeli citizens left inside Syria, mainly in the area of the predominantly Druze village of Hader. Police are also still searching for Syrian Druze who crossed into Israeli territory under the cover of demonstrations at the border fence.
The military on Thursday afternoon was attempting to avoid a repeat of such scenes by deploying engineering obstacles on the border in the coming hours between Majdal Shams and Hader. Work was also expected on Thursday to repair the damage caused to the border fence following the demonstrations.
Two Druze Knesset members, Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Afif Abed (Likud), crossed into Syria. Amar said he entered Hader to help rescue young Druze men and spent several hours ensuring their return to Israel. Both lawmakers were accompanied by security officials during this operation.
“What happened yesterday in the Druze Mountains was gangs under the auspices of the [Syrian] government that entered the communities, raped girls aged 5, 7, 10, killed women and men, burned houses and continued. We are talking about a massacre. Something like that happened on Oct. 7. Humiliating adults, shaving their beards and killing them? It reminded me of the Holocaust,” Amar told Ynet on Thursday.
“Everything is under the auspices of the al-Jolani regime, so we don’t think that the man in the suit is someone else. He slaughtered people and raped women with his own hands [in the past]. We must not allow this monster to rise on our northern border.”
