Israel launched heavy airstrikes against Syrian government targets on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry and near the presidential palace in Damascus, killing at least three people and wounding 34.
The heavy Israeli attack came despite a US push to reach a normalization deal between Israel and the al-Qaeda-linked Syrian government that took power in Damascus following the regime change that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
According to a report from Axios, Israel carried out the airstrikes despite pressure from the US to “stand down,” which was conveyed by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack in a call with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. “We told the Israelis to stand down and take a breath,” a US official told the outlet.
Israel carried out the airstrikes following clashes in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda. Several days ago, fighting broke out between the Druze minority and Bedouin tribes, with forces from the HTS-led Syrian government intervening on the side of the Bedouins and also committing summary executions of Druze civilians.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz justified the heavy strikes in Damascus by claiming Israel was looking to protect the Druze, and he suggested that more attacks will come. “The warnings in Damascus have ended – now painful blows will come,” Katz wrote on X. “The IDF will continue to operate forcefully in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until their complete withdrawal.”
Katz also shared a video on X of a live news broadcast that caught the bombing of the Defense Ministry on camera. “The painful blows have begun,” he said.
According to a report from Israel’s Channel 12, Israel is planning a “prolonged” military operation in Syria following the Damascus attacks. Israeli strikes were also reported in Suwayda and in the countryside of Deraa, which is also located in southern Syria.
While Israel is framing its attacks as support for the Druze, Israel’s real motive is likely that it doesn’t want to agree to a normalization deal with Syria since it would have to give up territory it has captured in its invasion of southern Syria, which was launched after the ousting of Assad. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the regime change and took credit for helping set it in motion.
The new Syrian government under the leadership of former al-Qaeda leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been very deferential toward Israel and has not launched any attacks on Israel despite the invasion and frequent Israeli airstrikes against Syrian territory. Damascus has also been engaged in talks with Israel about a normalization deal.
