At the same time, Israeli security forces continued efforts to locate and bring back Druze citizens from Israel who had crossed into Syrian territory, as well as return individuals who crossed in the opposite direction.
Druze cheering IDF forces
After nearly five days of violent fighting in the area, a ceasefire between the warring parties was reached on Wednesday. Overnight and into the morning, Syrian regime forces began withdrawing from the city. But the Syrian Bedouin fighters launched a new offensive Thursday in the southern province of Sweida against Druze fighters, defying the truce announced the previous evening The IDF’s Northern Command remains in a heightened state of readiness is expected to continue through the weekend, with reinforcement units stationed along the Israeli side of the border.
While the IDF was unprepared on Wednesday for the arrival of thousands of Druze protesters at the Golan border fence, the military is now preparing to deploy engineering obstacles along the frontier in the coming hours. These include large concrete barriers and pyramid-shaped anti-vehicle structures between Majdal Shams and the Syrian village of Hader.
According to reports, around 500 people were killed during the clashes, which began last Saturday. Among the dead were at least 27 individuals reportedly executed. Overnight, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa addressed the violence, accusing Israel of seeking to turn Syria into “a theater of chaos.” He declared, “The Syrian people are always ready to fight for their honor. We are the sons of this land, and we will overcome Israel’s attempts. We are eager to prosecute those who harmed our Druze citizens.”
He continued to blame Israel for worsening the situation: “Since the fall of the regime, Israel has sought to dismantle Syria. We have chosen to assign responsibility for regional security to local factions and tribal leaders. We have avoided being dragged into confrontation to preserve national stability.”
