Israeli PM Netanyahu Defends Air Strikes On Syria, Vows To Enforce Demilitarised Zone
Israeli PM Netanyahu Defends Air Strikes On Syria, Vows To Enforce Demilitarised Zone
According to the Prime Minister, both policies were violated by the Syrian regime.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out powerful military strikes in southern Syria to stop what he described as attacks on the Druze population, and to enforce a demilitarised zone south of Damascus.
In a terse statement, Netanyahu said: “We have set forth a clear policy; demilitarisation of the South of Damascus from Golan Heights to the Druze mountain area. That’s rule number one.”
He added that a second guiding principle is “protecting the brothers of our brothers at the Druze mountain.”
According to the Prime Minister, both policies were violated by the Syrian regime.
“The regime sent troops south of Damascus into a region that has been demilitarised and started slaughtering the Druze. That we could not accept in any way,” Netanyahu declared.
In response, he said he had ordered Israeli airstrikes targeting both Syrian military forces and strategic infrastructure.
“The Airforce attacked both the gang of murderers and the armoured vehicles. I also added one target — the Ministry of Defense in Syria.”
He said the strikes forced a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Syrian troops.
“This is the ceasefire that was reached through strength — not by making requests, not by begging but through strength,” he stated, reaffirming Israel’s posture of deterrence.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel’s future policy will be guided by this principle of power-backed peace: “We are reaching peace through strength, quiet through strength, security through strength on seven fronts. We will not allow the Syrian armed forces to enter the region South of Damascus and we will not allow any harm to Druze at the Druze mountain.”
The Prime Minister also revealed a personal message he received from Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel.
“He told me during the Holocaust, when you were being slaughtered, you the Jews cried for help and no one came. Today, we the Druze are being slaughtered and we are calling for the help of the state of Israel.”
The statement underscores Israel’s growing role in regional security dynamics, particularly concerning minority groups and border stability.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that tensions in the Middle East intensified on Wednesday after Israel launched a direct strike on the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus, escalating an already volatile situation in the region.
The attack comes amid ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda.
The Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the action, saying Israeli forces targeted the entrance of the Syrian military headquarters in the capital.
The strike followed his warning to the Syrian government to withdraw from Suwayda, where fierce fighting had resumed despite a brief ceasefire announced by Damascus on Tuesday.
In a statement, Katz said the operation was in response to the Syrian military’s confrontation with Druze fighters—whom Israel sees as a potential ally in the country and claims to be defending.
Al Jazeera correspondent Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Damascus, said he witnessed two drone strikes on the Syrian Ministry of Defence — one near the entrance and the other at the back of the building.
He added that drones were still flying overhead as Syrian defensive units opened fire in response.
