Israel Strikes Near Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus, Citing Threats to Druze Community
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Friday that Israel carried out an airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, marking the second such strike in as many days. The move, he said, was a direct response to sectarian violence targeting the Druze community and a warning to Syria’s interim government not to deploy forces near Israel’s border.
“Israel struck last night near the presidential palace in Damascus,” Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz. “This is 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.”
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The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed the strike, saying it hit a target “adjacent to the area of the Palace of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa in Damascus,” without specifying the precise nature of the target. Syrian authorities have not yet issued a response.
The attack follows a week of intense sectarian violence in Syria, where clashes between Druze and Sunni gunmen erupted in Jaramana, a predominantly Druze suburb of Damascus, and later spread to the nearby town of Sahnaya. The violence reportedly began after a voice recording cursing the Prophet Mohammad—allegedly created by a Druze individual—circulated online, sparking deadly retaliation from Sunni terrorists. More than a dozen people were reported killed in the clashes.
