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Israel, which has intervened in Syria in support of the Druse minority, attacked the entrance of the government military headquarters in Damascus. The death toll in four days of violence rose to more than 200, a war monitor said.
Published July 15, 2025Updated July 16, 2025, 6:39 a.m. ET
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had attacked the entrance to the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus, adding that it was closely monitoring operations by government forces in a region of southern Syria dominated by the Druse minority where clashes have raged for days.
A cease-fire was announced on Tuesday in southern Sweida province. But more violence broke out on Wednesday, according to Syrian authorities and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group. The death toll in four days of violence there rose to more than 200, according to the Observatory.
The clashes erupted on Sunday between armed Bedouin tribes and Druse militias that control Sweida province. They escalated into one of the deadliest bouts of unrest in the region in years, drawing in both security forces of the new Syrian government and neighboring Israel. Israel offered few immediate details on Wednesday on its attack near the military headquarters.
The fighting was the latest evidence that Syria’s new leaders are still struggling to assert their authority over the entire country after overthrowing the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. Here’s what you need to know:
Why did the fighting erupt?
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The fighting started on Sunday after members of an armed Bedouin tribe attacked and robbed a Druse man along Sweida’s main highway, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in Britain.
That incident prompted an exchange of attacks and kidnappings between the Druse militias that control Sweida province and armed Bedouin groups there, some of which are seen as pro-government.
