Syria, Israel and Druze
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Israel says its military has attacked the headquarters of the Syrian military in Damascus Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says "warnings" have now ended and "painful blows" will come Israel says it is trying to protect members of the Druze community in south-west Syria "We are working to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime's gangs,
"Silence and standing idly by are no longer an option,” Druze leader Sheikh Mowafak Tarif wrote. Israel's Druze spiritual leadership called on its community to prepare to assist their Syrian counterparts “by all means necessary,
Israel has threatened to increase its involvement in Syria and vowed to protect the Druze religious minority, which began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam, the Associated Press reported. Most of the world’s Druze population lives in Syria, with the rest predominantly in Israel and Lebanon.
1don MSN
Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.
An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."
Israel has bombed the areas around the Syrian city of Suweida after renewed fighting between Syrian government forces and Druze militias. This came after clashes broke out between the Druze and Bedouin tribes over the weekend in which 30 were left dead and dozens wounded.
Israel said it bombed Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland where a monitor says
Israeli strikes follow days of bloodshed in Sweida and a warning issued by Israel to the Syrian government, accusing it of targeting the Druze and violating a ceasefire agreement with the minority community.
Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.