Israel Strikes Damascus Military HQ After Escalation in Sweida

Tensions between Israel and Syria surged on Wednesday as the Israeli military launched airstrikes on a key Syrian army headquarters in Damascus. The attack followed Israel’s warning to the Islamist-led Syrian government to halt what it described as a brutal campaign against the country’s Druze minority in the southern province of Sweida.

Clashes in Sweida, home to Syria’s Druze heartland, have left nearly 250 people dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The violence erupted after Syrian forces moved into the Druze-majority city on Tuesday, claiming they were there to enforce a ceasefire between the Druze and local Bedouin tribes. But what followed was chaos.

Eyewitnesses alleged that instead of keeping the peace, Syrian government troops aligned with Bedouin militias to attack Druze fighters and civilians, leading to a wave of killings across the city. “The (Israeli military) struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria,” Israel’s army confirmed in a statement. Syrian state television said two people were wounded in the strike.

This marks one of the bloodiest flare-ups in Syria since similar battles in April and May between government forces and Druze fighters in Sweida and near Damascus claimed over 100 lives.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz was unequivocal in his warning to Damascus: “As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on.” Katz added that Syrian forces must withdraw, or Israel would escalate its response. “Israel will… raise the level of responses against the regime if the message is not understood,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had earlier in February demanded a fully demilitarised southern Syria, reiterated Israel’s firm position on not tolerating the presence of Islamist-led government troops near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Following the airstrikes, Israel announced it was deploying additional troops to the armistice line. “In accordance with the situational assessment, the (Israeli military) has decided to reinforce its forces in the area of the Syrian border,” the military said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, described the situation as “an existential battle for the Druze community.”

On the ground in Sweida, gunfire echoed through the streets on Wednesday. According to an AFP reporter, smoke billowed from several areas while shells pounded parts of the city. The journalist reportedly saw around 30 bodies—some in plain clothes, others in military uniform.

The independent local outlet Suwayda 24 reported “intense shelling with heavy artillery and mortars.” Syria’s defence ministry, however, blamed the violence on “outlaw groups,” claiming its troops were simply returning fire from hostile elements within the city.

According to the Syrian Observatory, 248 people have been killed since fighting erupted Sunday: 92 Druze—including 28 civilians—were confirmed dead, with 21 allegedly executed by government troops. At least 138 Syrian security personnel and 18 pro-government Bedouin fighters were also killed. The group said the violence was triggered by a kidnapping incident that spiraled into tit-for-tat abductions between the Bedouin and Druze—longtime rivals.

Though Israel has framed its involvement as a humanitarian defense of the Druze minority, some analysts have questioned whether this is a strategic move to push Syrian government forces farther from Israeli-held territory.

Nonetheless, the bloodshed in Sweida continues to escalate, raising fears of a wider conflict in Syria’s already fractured landscape.