Israel launched an airstrike on the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The relationship between the two countries, which had begun to improve after ending 14 years of civil war, has once again cooled.
Israel has cited the protection of the Druze minority in Syria as justification. Meanwhile, the international community has classified this as a violation of sovereignty, causing tensions in the Middle East to rise once more.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that on the 16th (local time), they conducted a large-scale airstrike in Damascus, precisely targeting military objectives near the presidential palace and the Ministry of National Defense building.
The Syrian Ministry of Health announced on the morning of the 17th that at least 3 people were killed and 34 were injured in the airstrike.
This airstrike occurred 7 months after the collapse of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in December of last year and the establishment of a transitional government led by Ahmad al-Shara.
The al-Shara government has built friendly relations with the United States and returned to the international community. It is known that they were seeking security cooperation with Israel through U.S. mediation behind the scenes.
The New York Times (NYT), citing experts, evaluated the airstrike as "a threat that could derail the relationship between the two countries, which had been tentatively warming since the end of the Syrian civil war."
The Israel Defense Forces stated that they responded with the airstrike after the Syrian government forces violently suppressed the Druze community in the southern Suwayda region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Our military is working to save the Druze brothers." Israel's Minister of National Defense Yoav Gallant also warned that "painful strikes will continue until the Syrian regime leaves the Druze community in Suwayda alone."
The Druze people are an Arab ethnic minority that split from Shiite Islam. Approximately 700,000 of them currently live in the Suwayda region of Syria. Small populations also reside in Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Historically, Israel has regarded the Druze as blood allies. The Druze in Israel have been required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces since 1957.
Earlier, on the 13th, clashes occurred between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda. Although the Syrian government forces were deployed to restore order, they are accused of attacking not only the militias but also civilians, instead of protecting the Druze.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) estimated that over 300 people have died as a result of the violence, including 109 Druze deaths, among whom several civilians were reportedly executed by government forces.
Some experts analyzed that the situation goes beyond merely protecting minorities and involves strategic calculations.
Israel has declared that it will not tolerate Syrian troops stationed near its border in southern Syria. This implies that they wish to eliminate the Syrian government forces, which are temporarily staying in the region to restore order.
Furthermore, there are views that suggest an intention to "divide Syria into ethnic units such as Kurds and Druze to prevent them from becoming a threat to Israel through partitioning."
The international community criticized the Israeli airstrike as a clear interference in internal affairs and a violation of sovereignty.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the airstrikes by Israel in a statement, urging respect for Syrian sovereignty.
Turkey, Iran, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the European Union (EU) also issued a series of critical statements.
Instead of a direct condemnation, the United States, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressed, "We are very concerned."
By pivoting to a hardline stance, rejecting the possibility of cooperation with the new Syrian regime, Israel has found itself back in the midst of Middle Eastern conflict before fully emerging from the aftermath of the 14-year civil war.
Al Jazeera quoted an expert, stating that "as long as the fundamental conflict between the Syrian government, which is pursuing centralization, and minorities demanding expanded autonomy remains unresolved, a second Suwayda incident could happen at any time."
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