Syria Reaches Ceasefire With Druze After Israel Deals ‘Painful Blows’ to Regime and US Intervenes

Syria’s clashes with its Druze population prompted a direct military intervention from Israel, with the IDF launching multiple strikes against Syrian regime forces amid reports of a “bloody rampage” against the Druze minority.

A ceasefire is reportedly underway between the Syrian groups, and the Trump Administration is reportedly close to making a deal between Syria and Israel to end hostilities.

The situation intensified earlier Wednesday, with the number of dead said to reach 300. The toll includes 92 members of the Druze minority, 28 of them civilians, with 21 “killed in summary executions by government forces,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. At least 138 Syrian security personnel were killed, along with 18 allied Bedouin fighters.

Israeli forces carried out significant strikes in Damascus and against Syrian regime units heading towards the Druze-majority city of Sweida. Targets included Syrian tanks, rocket launchers, and pickup trucks with mounted machine guns, as well as access routes. The IDF reported hitting over 160 targets in Syria since Monday, primarily in the Sweida area.

Later in the day, heavy strikes hit Syria’s general staff command building and a “military target” near the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus. The IDF stated that the military and defense ministry headquarters in the capital were used by Syrian government forces to send troops to Sweida. A warning strike was also carried out at the entrance to the general staff command building earlier.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that a “real de-escalation” in Syria is expected in the coming hours. Rubio, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said that fighting between Syrian Druze and Bedouin in the southwest of the country led to a “misunderstanding” between the Israeli and Syrian governments that resulted in widespread IDF bombings of regime targets.

A US official, speaking to Axios, was quoted saying, “We told the Israelis to stop and take a breath.” Rubio added, “We’re on our way towards a real de-escalation, and then hopefully getting back on track to helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East is far more stable.” He expressed hope for progress in this effort within hours, though he acknowledged reports of a ceasefire already being in place in Syria, making it unclear if he was updated on that development.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz issued a stark warning, stating, “The signaling in Damascus is over, now come the painful blows,” and vowed continued forceful operations until forces attacking the Druze fully withdraw. “The IDF will continue to strike regime forces until they withdraw from the area, and will soon escalate its response against the regime if the message is not understood,” Katz added.

Meanwhile, around 1,000 civilians from the Israeli side of the border breached the barrier near the Druze city of Majdal Shams and entered Syria, the IDF said, adding that troops were working to return these civilians, Druze residents of Israel, back to the country. This marked the second day in a row that Israeli Druze had managed to breach the border with Syria, although this time in much larger numbers, after dozens crossed the frontier on Tuesday.

Some Israeli Druze who crossed the border were seen getting into vehicles and driving away, possibly to Sweida to help protect the Druze there, a military official said.

Images from the border region on Wednesday also showed Israeli troops firing tear gas at several dozen Syrians who attempted to cross into Israel from a point near the Syrian Druze town of Hader. The military said that troops were working to prevent the infiltration. It was unclear how many Syrian Druze had entered Israel, though the Kan public broadcaster interviewed a man who claimed to have arrived from Hader.

The IDF called the border crossings a “grave incident that constitutes a criminal offense and endangers the public and IDF forces.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu echoed this, issuing a video statement imploring members of the Druze community not to cross the fence. “My fellow Druze citizens of Israel, the situation in Sweida, the situation in southwestern Syria, is very serious,” Netanyahu said. “The IDF is working, the Air Force is working, other forces are working. We are working to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime’s gangs.” He added, “You are risking your lives; you can be murdered, you can be kidnapped and you are harming the efforts of the IDF. Therefore, I ask you – return to your homes, let the IDF operate.”

In Israel, the Druze community launched a one-day labor strike in support of their embattled brethren across the border and demanded the Israeli government launch a military campaign to save them, claiming the Syrian regime was siding with Islamic State groups in a massacre of the local Druze. The missive, released before the drone strikes, was signed by Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community. Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Tarif said he was on his way to the Golan, and that demonstrations would also be held in Jerusalem.

He urged other Israelis to join the Druze campaign. “Silence and standing by are not possible,” the Druze leaders said in the statement. “This is an existential war of the Druze community.” The statement continued, “A shocking and cruel massacre is happening now in the Druze mountains of south Syria. Innocent civilians, women, children, and the elderly, are being murdered in cold blood.” It concluded, “Regrettably, the IDF and the Israeli government, despite their clear commitment, are not taking any real action to stop the killing. This is a deep and unfortunate breaking point in the historical and valued alliance between Israel and the Druze community.”

The Druze leaders called on Israel to engage in an “unequivocal campaign” on behalf of the community in Syria, referring to the IDF service of Druze community members, who have participated in the wars against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

They urged Netanyahu and Katz to “choose between partnership with the Druze community or with Islamic State.” Concerns are rising within Israel’s political and defense leadership that the escalating conflict could lead to desertions from the IDF by Israeli Druze members seeking to assist their families in Syria.

Clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters had resumed earlier Wednesday, just hours after a ceasefire had been announced. Local news outlet Sweida24 said the city and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire early, while Syria’s defense ministry, in a statement carried by state news agency SANA, blamed “outlaw groups” in Sweida for breaching the truce.

However, witnesses, Druze armed groups, and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor allege that government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city. Syrian troops were initially dispatched to the province on Monday to quell fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin armed men, but ended up clashing with the Druze militias.

Civilians and reporters in the city said that government forces had looted and burned homes, stealing cars and furniture on Tuesday.

Following a fresh assessment on Wednesday morning, the IDF had said it was bolstering forces in the Syrian border fence area, including four companies from the Border Police, Military Police, and Golani Brigade troops in training.

Amid the chaos on the border, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the military to further enhance its surveillance and offensive capabilities in the area. Zamir instructed the Northern Command to divert forces to the Syrian frontier to “increase the rate of strikes and stop attacks against the Druze in Syria,” the military said. The IDF also added that “crossing the fence into Syria without control endangers the Druze and our forces and must be stopped immediately.”
The IDF said it was ready to deploy two divisions to the Golan Heights and divert aerial forces, including drones and fighter jets, to the area.

The additional forces would bolster the 210th “Bashan” Division along the border and in the Israeli-controlled Syrian buffer zone. “The IDF is committed to the deep alliance with our Druze brothers and is therefore striking targets across Syria in order to protect them in the Sweida region, Jabal al-Druze, and wherever necessary,” the military’s statement said.

The IDF currently believes Syrian government forces control 70% or more of Sweida, with around 200 forces in the city and 1,000 in the outskirts. A military official said the IDF was preparing for several days of fighting, while at the same time, there were ongoing indirect talks between Israel and Syria. Israel was also in contact with the US regarding the incidents, according to the official. “The IDF continues to monitor developments and activity against Druze civilians in southern Syria and, in accordance with the directives of the political echelon, is attacking the area and is prepared for various scenarios,” the military said.