Netanyahu: Situation in Sweida and south western Syria very serious

Jerusalem, July 16 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday labelled the current situation in Sweida and south western Syria as "very serious", while also assuring that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are taking necessary actions.

"The IDF is operating, the Air Force is operating, other forces are operating. We are acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime," Netanyahu said in a statement addressing the Druze citizens.

He requested the Druze citizens to not cross the borders, saying it would be a risk to their lives.

"You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF," he said.

The IDF on Wednesday said that it struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria. Over the last 24 hours, Israeli Air Force aircraft have also attacked tanks, rocket launchers, weapons, and pick-up trucks armed with heavy machine guns, which were making their way to the Sweida area in southern Syria.

"The IDF continues to attack military targets of the Syrian regime in Damascus. The IDF recently attacked the Syrian regime's general headquarters in the Damascus area, Syria. From the General Headquarters in Damascus, Syrian regime commanders are conducting the fighting and sending regime forces to the As-Suwayda area," the IDF posted on X.

The Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar also issued a statement to the media regarding the situation in Syria, highlighting the "recurring phenomenon" of persecution of minorities to the "point of murder and pogroms" in Syria.

"Yesterday, an ancient church was burned down by militants in the northern province of As-Suweyda. I would like to remind you that just a week ago, there was a very serious attack on another church, carried out by ISIS, also in Syria.

And of course, we see this even more strongly in the last two days against the Druze community. There was such a wave of violence against them before, two and a half months ago, in the Damascus area, which ended after our actions, both politically and militarily," the Israeli Foreign Minister mentioned.

Sa'ar was highlighting the burning down of the ancient 'Mar Michael' church in northern Sweida province of Syria on Tuesday.

"Islamist aggression violently targets all minorities in Syria – Druze, Alawites, Kurds and Christians. What else needs to happen for the international community to raise its voice?!" Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor