Conflict in Syria: summary of the bloody events in Suwayda, which are far from over for Israel
As part of sectarian violence in southern Syria between Bedouins and Druze, Israel is demanding the demilitarization of the entire area around the town of Suwayda, where a recent conflict took place. After the Syrian army got involved, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on its positions to protect the Druze minority. The army of the transitional government of President Ahmad al-Shara, a former terrorist from the al-Nusra Front, has withdrawn from the area, but according to the latest reports from the scene, the clashes have not ended. Israel is now demanding a humanitarian corridor.
Clashes have been ongoing for a month in the southern Syrian town of Suwayda and its surroundings, originally triggered by the Bedouin minority, which, like the current government of the country's usurpers, professes Sunni Islam. The Bedouins, supported by the Syrian army and paramilitary groups, began to press on the main seat of the Druze minority in the country, which is also home to their largest diaspora. The Druze religious-ethnic community, originally from Egypt, lives in the largest group in Suwayda, where the worst massacres took place.
Suweida is a chaotic war zone right now with the Tribal Forces of the Syrian Government clashing with the Druze resistance throughout the city center. pic.twitter.com/f1LiCYXPGn
— ScharoMaroof (@ScharoMaroof) July 19, 2025
According to observers, over 1,000 people died in one week, most of them Druze. Thousands more were forced to leave their homes, most of them heading for Israel and the Golan Heights, which Israel claims as its own. Israel, home to the world's third largest Druze population after Syria and Lebanon, accused both Bedouins and Syrian government forces of ethnic massacres. When these forces began advancing on Suwayda with tanks and other heavy equipment, the Israelis began bombing them as a preventive measure, allegedly to prevent massacres of civilians in the city. There was also an Israeli air strike on the Syrian Ministry of Defense (military headquarters) in Damascus, which was captured on television cameras.
Israel had just bombed the Umayyad Square and the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus live on air.pic.twitter.com/7i0Qy1Y4Jh
— No Jumper (@nojumper) July 16, 2025
Despite these measures, Israel has not prevented bloodshed, especially in nearby Druze villages, where human rights organizations report that entire families, including women and children, have been murdered. The Syrian government, together with representatives of ethnic groups, has already declared a ceasefire, but according to the Israeli government, the situation remains very serious. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Becal'el Smotrič calls this ceasefire a deceptive truce aimed at encircling the Druze and causing a humanitarian crisis.
"We must demand and immediately establish a humanitarian corridor to allow food, medicine, and basic supplies to reach the besieged Druze, and prepare militarily to defend the Druze, force the Syrian regime to pay a heavy price, and create a strong deterrent to prevent a repeat attack," Smotrich said in a recent post on X, adding that protecting the Druze in Syria is both a moral and humanitarian duty for Israel.
Israel has taken advantage of the situation to expand the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which it has been gradually enlarging since the current regime of Ahmed Shara came to power, precisely out of security concerns. It has also set up several humanitarian centers for the Druze and allowed limited movement across the border. The Syrian interim government has reiterated its intention to protect all religious and ethnic groups and subsequently announced that it is withdrawing its troops.
Ahmad al-Shara, who in 2012, under the Islamist name Abu Muhammad Julani and under the banner of al-Qaeda, founded the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, said in a televised speech that his country "is not afraid of war, but has decided to put its people above chaos and destruction." According to the former jihadist, Syria now faces two options: "open war with Israel at the expense of our Druze citizens" or "allowing Druze clerics to return to their senses and prioritize the national interest," which translates into laying down arms and submitting to Syria's modern rulers.
In order to partially calm the international community, which began to gradually establish diplomatic relations with al-Shara last year after years of decline due to Bashar al-Assad's regime, the current Syrian regime announced that it would officially investigate the clashes in Suwayda. On the last day of July, it set up a seven-member commission consisting of judges, lawyers, and a military representative. The commission is to focus on the clashes in the city, the killing and torture of civilians, and bring to justice all those who participated in the violence on both sides. The commission is to submit its report within three months.
