Who are Drews and why is Israel attacking Syria?

A new wave of deadly communal violence is shaking southern Syria, highlighting the country’s fragility as the new government tries to implement its authority.

The fight in Suveda province is between the drews and the Bedouin militia – two groups with long -running disputes – as well as government forces.

The latest violence began on Sunday 13 July with the kidnapping of a drew merchant. A few days later, Israel launched airstrikes on Damascus, Suveda and Dera, saying that its army was demanding to protect the drews against the government-affected forces.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK -based War Monitor, in a week, more than 1,100 people are reported to be killed in Suveda.

All sides – drews, badouins and government forces – have been accused of atrocities.

Violence, along with Israeli attacks, has re -ignited the possibility of a security breakdown, as Syria declines with a 13 -year civil war, and recently Damascus’ Islamist leadership rebel acquisition,

The current Syrian leader, former terrorist Ahmed al-Shara, is Vow to protect minoritiesBut it has received skepticism by critics including Israel.

In March, several matches of communal violence, including the murder of hundreds of members of Alvite minority, have expressed concern over the situation of minorities in Syria after the collapse of Assad rule.

Drews are an Arabic-speaking ethnic-religious minority in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Israeli Golan heights. The Drew Fath Shia Islam has an offshoot with its unique identity and beliefs.

About one million followers of it live in Syria, where they create about 3% of the population. In Israel, the drauses are largely considered loyal to the state, due to their participation in military service. According to Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel has some 152,000 druzes and occupied goal heights.

He has historically placed an indefinite situation in Syria’s political order. Under the rule of Assad, Drej in Southern Syria enjoyed limited autonomy while maintaining a relationship with Damascus – a system in danger under the new government.

Since then Bashar al-Assad collapse in DecemberDrews have opposed government efforts to impose authority over southern Syria. While in Syria, the drews factions are divided into their approach to new officers, carefully until lump sum rejection, a state security attendance in Suveda has opposed several commodities and integration in the Syrian army for the presence of a state security – depending on the local militia.

The Syrian government has condemned the attacks on the drew people and promised to restore the order. However, its forces are also accused of attacking the minority; Sohr has documented “summary execution” by government forces.

Historically, Israel has bid for ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East to form a strategic alliance in front of its regional rivals. Since the decline of Assad, it has rapidly deployed itself as a regional guard of minorities, including Kurdish, Drews and Alvites in Syria, attacking the country and government forces.

However, in Syria and Lebanon, some droosters have accused Israel of preventing communal division to carry forward their own expansionist aspirations.

Israel has hit Syria several times, with the intention of preventing new authorities from building military capabilities that can endanger the safety of Israel.

The most recent attacks have acted mainly as a warning against the Syrian army deployed to the south, trying to create a dimilitated zone in the Israel region.

In particular, Israel is afraid of the presence of Islamist fighters near its northern border, with occupied goal heights.

While on July 15, the air strikes were limited to targeting security forces and vehicles in Suvida, the next day, during Israel it was widened for scope. Ministry of Defense and Syrian Army Headquarters In Damascus.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katj wrote on social media shortly after the strike begins, “The warning in Damascus has ended – now a painful explosion will come.”

The explosion at the military headquarters was broadcast live by Syria’s leading TV channel, which has studios nearby. The footage showed that the news attended the mid-future of the presenter studio.

The attacks represented the most serious Israeli growth in Syria since December 2024, when it removed hundreds of military sites and A non-appreciation buffer zone seized in Syrian Golan HeightsThe United Nations said that there was a violation of an 1974 agreement that there would be no military attendance in the region.

US State Secretary Marco Rubio has said that the US was “very concerned” about violence and announced on 16 July: “We have agreed to specific steps that will end this disturbed and frightening situation tonight.”

Arab states including Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Kuwait have condemned Israeli attacks. Saudi Arabia showed that it was described as “horrific attacks of Israel”, while Iran said they were “all very estimated”.

Turkey, a major stakeholder from Asad Syria, described the attacks against the Syrian government as “a task of sabotage”.

United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres also condemned Israel’s “escalatery” attacks.

Conflicts have underlined the safety and fragility of politics after the Syrian war, and the most recent violence has promoted fears of renewed communal attacks.

It remains to be seen whether the interim President Ahmed Al-Shra will be able to cover the deep communal parts of Syria, which have been surrounded by years of civil war for years.

Along with Israeli attacks, communal clashes threaten to derail state-building and post-war recovery.

Israel is likely to continue to look at new officers, and its affiliated Islamist fighters in the south as a significant security threat -to push it to combine with groups that may feel rapidly isolated and isolated by Damascus.