Israel launches strike near Syria’s presidential palace in warning to new leader Sharaa

DAMASCUS. In what is being described as its clearest warning yet to Syria’s newly installed leadership, Israel launched an airstrike early Friday on an area near the presidential palace in Damascus. The attack, according to Israeli officials, was a direct message to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and a signal of support for Syria’s Druze minority amid escalating sectarian violence.

Syria’s government swiftly condemned the strike, calling it a “dangerous escalation” in the already volatile relationship between the two nations.

The Israeli military confirmed that its forces struck a target “adjacent” to Sharaa’s palace, but provided no further details. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the bombing. A Syrian official, however, told Reuters that the strike hit a location roughly 100 meters east of the palace perimeter.

In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said:

“The strike was a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow (Syrian) forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”

The military also reported that Israeli troops had been deployed in southern Syria to prevent hostile forces from approaching Druze-populated areas. Five wounded Syrian Druze were evacuated to Israel for medical treatment, it added.

The airstrike comes amid growing unrest in Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel has since intensified its military activity within Syria, including air raids and the deployment of ground troops in the southwest, while calling for Syria to remain fragmented and diplomatically isolated.

Tel Aviv has expressed deep mistrust toward interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist commander who reportedly renounced ties to al-Qaeda in 2016. Israeli authorities maintain that their primary concern is safeguarding the Druze, a minority Islamic offshoot with communities in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

The incident also followed days of deadly sectarian violence between Sunni and Druze factions near Damascus, reportedly triggered by a voice recording deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed. The clashes left over two dozen people dead, prompting an initial Israeli “warning strike” earlier this week that killed a Syrian security official.

Syria’s presidency issued a scathing rebuke, calling the latest strike a “bombardment on the presidential palace” and accusing Israel of using the Druze as a pretext.

“Israel doesn’t want peace. Nor does it care for the groups it purportedly protects by bombing others,” wrote Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Razan Saffour on X. “Israel had never bombed near the palace when Assad was in power.”

In response to the crisis, opposition figures in Israel voiced rare unity with the government.

“Israel cannot abandon the Druze in Syria to their fate,” said Yair Lapid, a centrist opposition leader, on X. “The Syrian regime must know they are our allies and we will not stand by while they are attacked.”

The internal tensions also reached Sweida province, a predominantly Druze region in southern Syria. On Thursday, Druze elders met with Syrian government officials to de-escalate the situation. Their concluding statement rejected foreign interference, stating,

“Syria is our mother nation, we do not have an alternative country,” said Sheikh Laith al-Balous in an interview with Syria TV. “We don’t need anyone’s protection.”

The situation remains tense in towns like Al-Soura al-Kubra, where Sunni Islamist militants clashed with Druze defenders. Residents returning after the fighting found homes looted.

“My door had been broken down and money was missing,” said Salman Olaiwi, a local resident. “But I’m thankful an agreement was reached to stop the fighting.”

Israel is home to a small Druze community, while around 24,000 Druze live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights—territory seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in 1981, a move unrecognized by most of the international community.

Reports indicate some Druze Israelis have written to Prime Minister Netanyahu, volunteering to help their Syrian brethren, claiming “hundreds of fighters” are ready to assist.

As tensions rise and diplomatic channels remain uncertain, the fragile stability in Syria appears once again at risk of unraveling.