Israeli airstrikes struck Syrian government convoys that were moving towards the provincial capital of Sweida and other locations in southern Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the purpose of the strikes was to "prevent the Syrian regime from harming the Druze religious minority and to ensure disarmament on the territory bordering our borders with Syria." In Israel, the Druze community is seen as loyal and many of its members serve in the military.

At the same time, Israeli Cabinet member and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli posted on X that al-Sharaa should be "removed without hesitation."

Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, who belongs to the Interior Ministry forces, received medical care at a local hospital for shrapnel injuries after an Israeli airstrike hit his convoy.

“We were heading into Sweida to protect the civilians and stop looting. I was riding an armoured personnel carrier when the Israeli drone struck us,” he added, stating that there were “many casualties.”

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli attacks had killed "several innocent civilians" and soldiers and described the strikes as "a reprehensible example of continued aggression and external interference" in Syria's affairs.

The ministry also said that the Syrian state remains committed to safeguarding the Druze people, "who constitute an integral component of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric."

Israel has maintained a strict position against Syria’s new government since Sunni Islamist fighters led by al-Sharaa removed former President Bashar Assad in December, saying it does not want armed groups near its borders. Israeli forces have taken control of a United Nations monitored buffer zone along the Syrian frontier near the Golan Heights and have carried out hundreds of airstrikes on military targets inside Syria.

On Tuesday morning, religious figures from the Druze community in Syria called on armed groups fighting the government to surrender their weapons and cooperate with the authorities. Shortly after that, one of the leading Druze spiritual leaders released a video retracting the appeal.

Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has opposed the government in Damascus, said in the video that the earlier Druze leaders’ statement was made based on an agreement with the Damascus authorities but that "they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians."

"We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation," he asserted, though he did not provide any proof for the claim.

Videos appeared on social media that showed armed groups detaining Druze captives, beating them and in some cases forcibly shaving off the moustaches of men.

The Druze religious group began in the tenth century as a branch of Ismailism, which itself is a branch of Shiite Islam. Over half of the estimated one million Druze people worldwide live in Syria. The rest are mostly in Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights, which was taken by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981.

After the fall of Assad, multiple clashes have taken place between Druze fighters and forces that support the new Syrian government.

The recent violence has raised fears of more sectarian conflict. In March, an ambush carried out by Assad loyalists against government forces in another region of Syria triggered several days of sectarian and revenge killings. Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them from the Alawite sect, which Assad belonged to. A commission was set up to investigate those events, but no report has been made public yet.

Footage and reports of abuses by soldiers have sparked anger and demonstrations from Druze communities in Lebanon, northern parts of Israel and in the Golan Heights, which is now under Israeli control. According to the Israeli military, dozens of protestors crossed into Syrian territory during these protests.

The international community has also expressed concern. The United States envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, described the violence as "worrisome on all sides" in a tweet.

"We are trying to arrive at a peaceful, inclusive solution for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces," he stated.