Jerusalem, 16 July, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday threatened further strikes on Syrian forces if they did not immediately evacuate the southern Syrian area of Suweida.
Around 200 people have been killed in several days of violence between local Druze and Bedouins.
“The Syrian regime must let the Druze in Sweida go and withdraw its forces,” Katz said in a statement.
“As we have made clear and warned – Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarization policy we have decided on. The [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area – and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”
On Tuesday, dozens of Israeli Druze crossed the border into Syria, while others blocked roads. The demonstrations came hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it had struck Syrian military vehicles approaching Suweida. According to the IDF, the airstrikes targeted armored personnel carriers, tanks, and roads used by Syrian government forces.
The Syrian military forces of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa are viewed as supporting the Sunni Bedouins.
Israel’s Druze community of 152,000 has been calling on the government to take stronger measures to protect their co-religionists in southern Syria. Around 40,000 Druze live in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Da’ara and Sweida under Israeli protection. Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria. Several Israeli Druze
In May, the Israeli army set up a field hospital to treat civilians near the Syrian village of Hader.
Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed in December. Israel also launched waves of airstrikes on Syrian army assets and Iranian stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical Islamists.
While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone in the past, December’s takeover marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The demilitarized zone was established with a ceasefire in 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur War.
Israel considers the 1974 ceasefire agreement void until order is restored in Syria.
