Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that Syria was facing ongoing Israeli attempts to sow division and spread chaos in the war-torn country, as Syrian forces withdrew from the southern province of Suweida following a ceasefire deal.
Israel destroyed Syria’s military headquarters on Wednesday and bombed the vicinity of the presidential palace in Damascus and carried out hundreds of airstrikes across the south.
It says its strikes were in defence of Syria’s Druze minority, who had for days been caught in violent clashes with Syrian government forces before a truce was reached on Wednesday.
Tel Aviv said it would not allow a Syrian armed presence in southern Syria. Israeli forces invaded southwestern Syria from the occupied Golan Heights after longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.
Hours after the ceasefire was announced in the Druze-majority Suweida governorate, which saw Syrian military forces pull out of the area, Sharaa said in the early hours of Thursday that the country was faced with two choices, one of which was to engage in an open war with Israel.
Instead, the Syrian government "chose to put the interests of the Syrian people first and prevent a slide into further chaos and destruction," Sharaa, who formerly led the Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia, said.
He vowed to hold accountable anyone who committed abuses against the Druze community, whom he described as "an integral part of the nation's fabric."
Syrian government forces are accused of committing crimes during the clashes, with reports of field executions and videos showing physical attacks and deliberate humiliation of Druze men and other human rights violations.
Since coming to power, Syria's new Islamist-leaning rulers have vowed to protect the fractured country's religious and ethnic minorities.
But massacres in the coastal region in March, which left over a thousand Alawites dead, a church bombing in Damascus this month, clashes with the Druze, and other incidents have raised concerns.
Sharaa has repeatedly said he refuses to partition Syria and has rejected calls for federalism.
The clashes in Suweida, which initially erupted between Bedouins, who are mainly Sunni, and Druze have left hundreds of people killed.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights monitor said around 169 people were killed and over 200 wounded in the Suweida clashes between 13 and 16 July, including women and children. However, other estimates suggest a much higher death toll.
"Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, nor a place to implement the ambitions of others at the expense of the blood of its children and women. The Syrian state is a state for everyone; it is the dignity and pride of the homeland, and it is the dream of every Syrian to see his country rebuild itself," Sharaa said.
"Through this state, we all unite without discrimination, in order to restore Syria's prestige and place it at the forefront of nations living in security and stability."
Addressing the Druze, Sharaa said that protecting the community’s rights and freedom was the government’s priority and reiterated that Damascus rejects any efforts aimed at dragging them to an "external party" – in an apparent reference to Israel.
Sharaa blamed "outlaws" in Suweida for being behind the recent violence, claiming that the government had tried to intervene to bring order to the region and stabilise the situation.
Despite this, he said the defence and interior ministries deployed heavily across Suweida province and "succeeded in restoring stability despite Israeli interference."
He blamed Israel for further complicating matters on the ground and undermining efforts to restore stability after targeting civilian and government facilities, but thanked US, Arab and Turkish mediation to calm the situation, which "saved the region".
Syrian government pullout
On the ceasefire agreement in Suweida, Sharaa said it had been decided that local factions and sheikhs would oversee security in the area.
"We affirmed that this decision was based on our deep awareness of the seriousness of the situation for our national unity and to avoid our country slipping into a new, large-scale war," he said.
Reports on Thursday said that Syrian military forces had completely withdrawn from the southern province. Under the truce deal, local Druze factions will be responsible for security.
The death toll will likely climb in the coming days as outlets reported on dozens of bodies being found scattered throughout the streets.
Separately overnight, suspected Israeli airstrikes targeted more military sites near the Syrian coastal town of Jableh.
Local media said a loud explosion rocked the village of Zama and that the headquarters of Brigade 107 was targeted. Footage showed fire and smoke billowing from the site.
Israel has destroyed hundreds of military sites, including airbases, claiming it does not want Syria’s new Islamist-oriented rulers to be in possession of the military equipment.
Despite the recent escalation, Israel and Syria have been engaged in direct talks aimed at reaching a security deal, andsome reports have speculated that the two countries could eventually strike a peace deal or even normalise ties.