Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that Israeli forces launched an airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus, the Syrian capital. Speaking early Friday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to protecting the Druze community amid escalating sectarian violence in Syria.
“Israel struck last night near the presidential palace in Damascus,” Netanyahu said.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow (Syrian) forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”
The strike marks Israel’s second attack in Syria within 48 hours, following its earlier pledge to defend the Druze, a minority group with communities in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The community was drawn into sectarian clashes earlier this week, particularly against Sunni gunmen.
The Israeli military issued a separate statement, noting that its forces targeted an area “adjacent to the area of the Palace of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa in Damascus,” but did not specify the precise objective. Syrian officials have yet to comment on the incident.
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The airstrikes signal Israel’s increasing mistrust of the Sunni Islamist factions that overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in December. The removal of Assad has added complexity to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to unify a country now sharply divided by sectarian and political tensions.
Since Assad’s fall, Israel has advanced its influence in southwestern Syria, destroyed large portions of the Syrian army’s heavy weaponry, and intensified diplomatic pressure on the United States to ensure Syria remains fragmented and militarily weakened. Tel Aviv has also declared a firm stance in safeguarding the Druze, whose security remains precarious under the new power dynamics.
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Interim President Sharaa—once an al Qaeda commander before cutting ties with the group in 2016—has promised to lead an inclusive government. However, brutal episodes like the mass killing of Alawites in March have heightened fears among minorities about the dominant Sunni Islamist presence.
The most recent surge in sectarian violence erupted Tuesday in the Druze-majority district of Jaramana. Clashes broke out after a voice recording insulting the Prophet Mohammad surfaced, which Sunni militants believed originated from a member of the Druze community. The conflict rapidly escalated, with over a dozen reported dead. Violence soon spread to Sahnaya, another Druze town on the outskirts of Damascus, by Wednesday.
