Israel struck the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday, July 16, intensified its threats against government forces deployed in Soueida, where fighting between Druzes and Bedouin tribes have already killed 248 people in three days.
Violent clashes in Soueida
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army announced that it had targeted the entrance to the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus, response to the rise in violence in Soueida, a city in the south of the Druze majority. These strikes intervene after repeated threats from Tel Aviv, which had demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from the region.
At the same time, violent clashes continued in Soueida, where government units and their allies entered Tuesday. Fighting had broken out on Sunday between local Druzes fighters and Bedouin tribes, causing the intervention of the Syrian army.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), 248 people have been killed since Sunday, including 28 Druzes civilians. The NGO claims that 21 civilians Druzes were summarily executed by government forces, which are also accused of looting and abuses.
Despite the proclamation of a ceasefire on Tuesday, fire and bombing were heard Wednesday in several districts.
Israel threatens
The Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the army “will increase the intensity of its responses” if the Syrian forces are not withdrawn. He said that Israel would not leave the Druzes without protection and would impose a “demilitarization policy” in the South Syrian.
The Israeli army has also strengthened its device on the border and said it has identified “dozens of suspects” trying to cross the border from Syria.
On the Syrian side, the Ministry of Defense accused “outlaws groups” of having resumed attacks against the security forces and justified the pursuit of the city strikes.
Cheikh Hikmat al-Hejri, high religious dignitary Druze, appealed to Donald Trump, Benyamin Netanyahu and the international community: “Sauvez Soueida. Our people are exterminated. »»
Druzes at the heart of a local conflict with regional ramifications
The province of Soueida houses the main Druze community in Syria, with around 700,000 members before the war. This religious minority is also present in Lebanon and Israel. Long autonomous in war, it is now at the heart of a local conflict with regional ramifications.
Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, replaced by the interim government of Ahmad al-Chareh, the country remains fragmented, mined by struggles of influence and the resurgence of community tensions.
لحظة استهداف مبنى الأركان العامة في دمشق بعدة غارات إسرائيلية pic.twitter.com/9ivfpqfxvo
– التلفزيون العربي (@alarabytv) July 16, 2025
