TEL AVIV, July 16. /TASS/. The Israeli army has continued to strike the Syrian government’s military sites in the country’s southern regions, citing support for the Druze population, according to a statement.
Over the past 24 hours, tanks, rocket launchers and other types of weapons have been attacked. Pickups with machine guns were also attacked, heading, according to the Israeli military, towards the city of Suwayda in the south of Syria. Several roads were hit there "to block entry to the area."
"The Israel Defense Forces continues to monitor developments and the actions of the regime against the Druze civilians in southern Syria. In accordance with the instructions of the political leadership, the Israel Defense Forces is attacking the area and remains ready for various scenarios," the military said.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had attacked the complex of buildings of the Syrian General Staff in Damascus.
Prior to this, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would continue to strike Syria if its authorities did not withdraw troops from the area of the city of Al-Suwayda in the south, where the Druze live.
After the change of power in Damascus at the end of 2024, Israel has repeatedly expressed its support for the Druze living in the neighboring Arab republic and expressed its intention, if necessary, to assist them in self-defense in the face of possible destabilization of the situation.
The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious group whose representatives live in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. There are 700,000 Druze in Syria, the third largest religious and ethnic minority after the Kurds and Alawites.