JERUSALEM (BN24) — Israel on Friday rejected claims published by Syria’s state news agency that it carried out additional airstrikes near the southern city of Sweida overnight, amid a wave of sectarian bloodshed and rising regional tensions.
“The Israel Defense Forces are not aware of any overnight strikes in Syria,” a military spokesperson told AFP, pushing back against reports by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that suggested Israel had launched further attacks in the region late Thursday.
Earlier this week, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Syrian army positions in both Sweida and the capital, Damascus. The strikes were aimed at forcing Syria’s Islamist-aligned government to withdraw its military presence from the largely Druze-populated Sweida region following deadly clashes involving Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces.
The Israeli military said its operations were intended to prevent a buildup of Syrian forces near its borders and to protect the local Druze population, a minority community that has increasingly come under threat amid the spiraling violence. Syrian troops reportedly pulled out of Sweida on Thursday in the wake of the strikes.
Amid growing concern over the humanitarian fallout, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced Friday the urgent dispatch of aid to the Druze population in southern Syria. “In light of the recent attacks targeting the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian situation in the area, Foreign Minister Saar has ordered the urgent transfer of humanitarian aid,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The aid package, valued at approximately two million shekels ($600,000), includes food parcels and medical supplies. The ministry noted this is not the first such effort, pointing to a similar aid mission to the Druze community in Syria back in March.
This week’s violence in the Sweida region has marked one of the most intense outbreaks of sectarian conflict in southern Syria since the civil war began over a decade ago. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 594 people had been killed in the clashes, which pitted Druze factions against Sunni Bedouin militias, government troops, and allied forces.
On Wednesday, Israel reportedly shelled government buildings in Damascus as part of its pressure campaign on the Syrian regime. However, by early Friday, Israeli officials were distancing themselves from any suggestions of continued military operations, dismissing the Syrian state media reports as inaccurate.
While Israel has frequently targeted Iranian and Hezbollah-linked forces operating in Syria, its involvement in this latest episode represents a notable shift — aligning its strategic goals with humanitarian overtures toward the country’s Druze minority, many of whom have familial and cultural ties to Israel’s own Druze citizens.
The unfolding crisis in Sweida underscores both the fragility of Syria’s internal balance and the broader regional implications, as foreign powers cautiously navigate the complex and volatile dynamics on the ground.
