Israel launched a strike early Friday near the presidential palace of Syria in a warning for the Syrian government to stop attacks against the Druze minority in the country.
The military intervention occurred while dozens of people were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and Druze militias near the capital Damascus.
The fighting broke out earlier this week after an audio clip circulated on the social media of a man criticizing the prophet of Islam Mohammed.
Audio was awarded to a Clerc de Druze, but the new Syrian government – led by the former affiliate of Al -Qaeda Ahmed Al -Sharaa – confirmed that the man was not involved.
Israel’s strike on Friday was the second time that the country has been intervening in Syria this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the decision on Friday was a direct warning to the Syrian authorities.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not authorize a withdrawal from the southern Damascus forces or any danger to the Druze community,” they said in a joint statement.
The Syrian media affiliated to the state reported that the strike had landed near the Palais Populaire, located on a hill overlooking the capital.
After the Israeli strikes south of Damascus on Wednesday, the Syrian government struck what it called “foreign intervention” in his country.
On Thursday, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze in Syria, condemned the actions of the Syrian government against the minority population.
However, religious leadership Druze stressed that their community was part of Syria.
“We confirm our commitment to a country that includes all Syrians, a nation without conflict,” they said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the Syrian Observatory based in the United Kingdom for Human Rights reported that 56 people, including local armed fighters and security forces, had been killed in the Sahnaya region and Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus with a large population of Druze.
Druze are a religious minority whose faith is from branch of Shiite Islam.
Out of around a million druze worldwide, more than half reside in Syria, living in the southern province of Sweida and the periphery of Damascus.
ADVERTISEMENTImportant Druze communities also live in Lebanon and Israel, notably in the heights of Golan – Israel territory seized of Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and officially annexed in 1981.
The government of Al-Sharaa has promised to protect religious minorities since his oust the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
However, this commitment was questioned after hundreds of civilians from the Alawite sect of al-Assad were killed in March in western Syria.
