Israel Strikes Near Syrian Presidential Palace After Warning Over Druze Clashes

Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday, issuing a sharp warning to Syrian authorities over escalating sectarian violence involving the country’s Druze minority.

The strike followed several days of deadly clashes between pro-government gunmen and fighters from the Druze community in areas south of Damascus. Dozens of casualties were reported amid the violence, which has heightened tensions across southern Syria.

Late Friday, further Israeli strikes were reported across Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in southern and central Syria. According to Associated Press journalists in the capital, the air raids lasted more than an hour, continuing past midnight.

The Syrian presidency condemned the airstrikes as a “dangerous escalation” and an attack on the country’s sovereignty and unity. It called on the international community to defend Syria’s national integrity and denounced the strikes as targeting “state institutions.”

This marks Israel’s second airstrike in Syria within the week. Targeting an area close to the presidential palace suggests a deliberate message to Syria’s evolving leadership, which is now reportedly influenced by Islamist factions such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, earlier criticized the Syrian government’s recent operations, describing them as an “unjustified genocidal attack” on the minority. In a statement released Friday, Druze religious leaders reaffirmed their loyalty to Syria, calling for government control to be restored in Sweida province and along the Sweida-Damascus highway.

“We confirm our commitment to a country that includes all Syrians, a nation that is free of strife,” the statement read.