The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a surprise attack Wednesday on the new Syrian regime, bombing the country’s military headquarters as part of an operation to protect Druze Arabs from being massacred.
In recent days, the Syrian military — made up largely of former jihadists — began encircling and killing the Druze Arabs of the country’s southwest. The Druze are one of several minority groups in Syria, and have long been wary of the new Sunni government and its leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa. When the regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed, some Druze leaders openly appealed for Israel to protect them from attack by the Sunnis.
As Breitbart News noted, the IDF hit Syrian tanks advancing toward the border area on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the IDF issued further statements about its military activity in Syria, including Damascus.
The IDF also warned Israelis, primarily Druze Arabs, not to cross into Syria.
It said:
Over the past day, the IDF has struck and continues to strike tanks, rocket launchers, weapons, and pickup trucks loaded with heavy machine guns on their way to the As Suwayda area in southern Syria.
Additionally, routes were struck in order block access to the area.
The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios.
It later added:
Following last night’s series of strikes against Syrian regime forces, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, instructed the reinforcement of intelligence gathering means, strike capabilities, as well as the redeployment of troops to the Northern Command in order to accelerate the pace of strikes and halt the attacks against the Druze community in Syria.
The IDF is committed to the deep alliance with the Druze community and is therefore conducting strikes against military targets throughout Syria to defend them in the as-Suwayda region, Jabal al-Druze, and wherever necessary.
The 210th Division’s sector will be reinforced with additional troops along the border area and at outposts within the security zone.
The uncontrolled crossing of the border into Syria endangers both the Druze community and our soldiers, and must be stopped immediately.
And it added:
A short while ago, the IDF struck the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria.
The military headquarters in Damascus is the location from which Syrian regime commanders direct combat operations and deploy regime forces to the As-Suwayda area.
Additionally, a military target in the area of the Syrian regime’s presidential palace in Damascus was struck.
The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF is conducting strikes in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack posted about the violence, seeming to criticize both sides:
Barrack has taken a number of controversial stances lately, such as supporting Turkey’s quest to obtain U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, and declaring that the terrorist group Hezbollah is a legitimate party in Lebanon.
However, he was reportedly backed up by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who echoed deep concerns about the IDF’s actions.
In Israel, Druze Arabs are loyal to the Jewish state and are drafted into the military, serving with distinction.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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