The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday, May 1 that it carried out an airstrike targeting a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria—an operation that aligns with earlier statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), fighter jets hit an area in close proximity to the residence of Syria’s de facto president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The military framed the strike as a warning to Syria’s new leadership that is mostly made up of Islamist groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, amid ongoing unrest south of the Syrian capital.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow Syrian forces to deploy south of Damascus or pose any threat to the Druze community,” Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The airstrike marks the second Israeli attack on Syrian soil in just two days. It follows Tel Aviv’s pledge to protect the country’s Druze minority, after deadly sectarian violence erupted earlier this week, leaving dozens dead in southern Syria.
Clashes involving members of the Druze community broke out around midnight on Monday, with intense fighting between pro-government militias and members of the Druze minority near the Syrian capital.
The violence was reportedly triggered by the circulation of an audio recording on social media, in which a man was heard criticizing the Prophet Muhammad—an act that deeply offended many Sunni Muslims in the region.
The voice in the audio was initially attributed to a Druze scholar, Marwan Kiwan. However, Kiwan later appeared in a video posted online, denying any involvement and distancing himself from the controversial recording.
On Thursday, Syria’s top Druze spiritual authority, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, delivered a scathing condemnation of the Syrian government, accusing it of carrying out what he described as an “unjustified genocidal assault” against the Druze community, according to the Associated Press.
