ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least one person was killed and four others were injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes in Syria overnight, state media reported, amid deadly clashes between Damascus-aligned forces and armed members of Syria’s Druze community, whom Israel has pledged to protect.
A civilian was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Harasta, a northeastern suburb of Damascus, SANA reported early Saturday morning. Four others were injured in a separate strike on the village of Shatha in northwestern Hama province. Additional strikes targeted at least two locations in Daraa province in the southwest.
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed via X on Saturday that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes “on a military site, an anti-aircraft artillery, and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria."
“The IDF will continue to operate as necessary to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” he added.
The escalation comes amid clashes between Druze fighters and Syrian security forces in the southern province of Suwayda. The violence was reportedly triggered by an audio recording insulting the Prophet Muhammad and falsely attributed to a prominent Druze cleric.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 56 people have been killed in the clashes, including 16 members of the government-affiliated General Security, 10 fighters from pro-regime armed groups, and 30 Druze fighters.
Israel, which is home to about 150,000 Druze, has vowed to protect the minority community in Syria.
On Friday, Israel carried out a strike near the presidential palace in Damascus after warning the Syrian government against sending additional forces to the south.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow forces to be sent south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.
Referring to interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa by his former nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, Katz posted on X: “When Jolani wakes up in the morning and sees the results of the Israeli Air Force's strike, he understands very well that Israel is determined to prevent harm to the Druze in Syria.”
Katz added that while it is Sharaa’s “duty to protect the Druze… from the attacks of jihadist perpetrators,” Israel also has a “duty to protect the Druze in Syria from harm - for the sake of our Druze brothers in Israel, their loyalty to the state, and their tremendous contribution to Israel’s security.”
The Syrian Presidency condemned Friday’s airstrike as a “dangerous escalation against the country’s institutions and sovereignty,” and accused Israel of “ongoing reckless actions aimed at destabilizing the country, worsening security crises, and targeting Syria’s national security and unity.”
The presidency said that Damascus “will not compromise on its sovereignty or security and will continue to defend the rights of its people by all available means.”
The Arab Parliament - a regional legislative body that represents the Arab League comprising all 22 Arab states - released a statement condemning “the Israeli occupation entity’s airstrike” near the presidential palace in Damascus.
“This strike is part of the ongoing blatant violations and aggressions committed by the occupation entity against the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Syria,” the statement added, urging “the international community and the United Nations, especially the UN Security Council, to take action against these repeated violations.”
The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday said he “strongly condemned” Israel’s airstrikes.
“I call for these attacks to cease at once and for Israel to stop endangering Syrian civilians and to respect international law and Syria’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and independence,” he said on X.
After the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled last December, Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes to destroy Syria’s military stockpiles and has also sent troops across the border into a buffer zone east of the annexed Golan Heights, justifying the move as a precaution against political instability in Syria.
In the past 48 hours, Israel has conducted over 20 airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
