TEL AVIV, July 16. /TASS/. Israel is preparing to move two additional divisions toward Syria as tensions escalate in southern Syria, according to a report by Galei Zahal, the radio station of the Israeli military.

According to the report, the two additional divisions are to be sent to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and to Syria proper.

Also, a brigade of paratroopers is getting ready to deploy toward Syria if such a need arises, according to the radio station.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it struck the Syrian General Staff compound in Damascus. Before that, Katz warned that Israel would continue to strike Syria unless its government pulled troops from the Druze-populated area in and around the town of Sweida.

Since the change of government in Damascus in 2024, Israel has repeatedly voiced support for the Druze in the neighboring Arab country and expressed its intention to assist them in self-defense if necessary.

The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious group whose members live in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. The 700,000 Druze in Syria make up the country’s third-largest religious and ethnic minority after the Kurds and Alawites.