Israel launched unprecedented airstrikes which targeted just outside the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, at a moment the Netanyahu government is using sectarian fighting as a pretext to intervene militarily in and further occupy Syrian land.
The complex served as the longtime center of the former Assad government, and Jolani (Sharaa) has since been using it as his base from which to rule the country, following Assad's December ouster. Israel, which usually doesn't confirm attacks on Syria, described that its military struck "adjacent" to Sharaa's palace in Damascus.
While Israel had attacked Syria literally hundreds of times while Assad was still in power, it had never directly threatened Assad's palace or presidential residence.
Syria's 'interim' President al-Sharra also confirmed "bombardment on the presidential palace" and said it marked a "dangerous escalation." Of course, Syria no longer has anti-air defenses or an air force to speak of.
Israel has suddenly presented itself as taking up the cause of Syria's Druze minority, who are the latest to be persecuted at the hands of Jolani's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Sunni militants. This also as Alawites and Christians come under attack.
Clashes in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana earlier this week saw HTS militants seek to root out Druze factions. After days of fighting, many reports indicate that over 100 have been killed in the anti-Druze clashes.
⚡️🚨 IOF spokesman: "Warplanes bombed the area adjacent to the Ahmed al-Sharaa Palace in #Damascus a short while ago." pic.twitter.com/6dO7zUMAjm
— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) May 2, 2025
HTS forces are said to be heading south to Druze-dominant communities Suwayda Governorate. Many observers fear clashes could grow and spread to other regions.
While there are also many Arab Druze citizens of Israel, Tel Aviv have never shown this level of concern for Syria's Druze before. Clearly the 'protect the Druze' mantra is largely a pretext for Israeli expansion and further meddling in Syria.
Israel's military has since last December already occupied significant portions of southern Syria well beyond the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Israeli military intervention has sent "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."
Syria's presidential palace, which is perched overlooking Damascus...
Interestingly, in another unprecedented first, Damascus is signaling it's ready to make peace with Israel and enter into full normalization - something the Assad family never so much as hinted at, given the state of war that persisted over the Golan since the very beginning of the modern Syrian state.
