Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the leader of the Druze community in Israel and an ally of Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze in Suwayda (southern Syria), who had requested Israeli support against government forces during recent events in the province.

Following his meeting with Tarif on Thursday, August 28, in a Druze operations room in the village of Julis (northern Israel), established to monitor the situation in Suwayda, Netanyahu commented on the current Syrian government, saying, “I am not a naïve person, and I understand whom we are dealing with.”

On July 16, Tarif had issued a statement calling on Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to “fulfill their commitment to protect the Druze in Syria.”

Netanyahu added, “We saw part of the massacre, some of its dimensions, which become clearer and deeper day by day. Together we are working to bring this to the world, or at least to audiences and very important people.”

He continued, “Hardly a day passes without me speaking about this and raising it in the media. It is important that this reaches powerful and influential decision-makers around the world. That is what we are doing. I am not naïve; I know whom we are facing and what we are facing,” stressing, “There will be a settlement.”

Israeli air operation in Damascus countryside

The Israeli army carried out an airdrop at a Syrian military site in the Damascus countryside, southern Syria, without clashes with Syrian troops, following ongoing Israeli airstrikes and drone flights.

According to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), a government source said Syrian soldiers discovered surveillance and eavesdropping devices near Jabal al-Mani on August 26. While attempting to dismantle them, the site came under Israeli air attack, resulting in deaths, injuries, and the destruction of vehicles.

The source added that Israeli airstrikes and drones continued to prevent access to the area until the evening of August 27. In response, Syrian units destroyed part of the devices with “appropriate weapons” and retrieved the bodies.

The source confirmed that Israeli warplanes launched several strikes on the site, followed by an airdrop, the details of which remain unclear, amid continued heavy reconnaissance flights.

A “historic alliance”

Earlier Thursday, Israel’s Channel 7 reported that Sheikh Tarif also met with Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council in the occupied West Bank, who compared the events in Suwayda to the October 7 attacks.

Dagan emphasized what he called a “historic alliance and bond of courage between Jews and Druze, especially in Samaria,” citing Druze commanders who have led Israeli army brigades in the West Bank and the partnership in “combating terrorism and protecting settlements.”

“Your blood is our blood. We have fought side by side over the years,” Dagan said, urging the Israeli government to adopt an official decision to assist Druze in Suwayda, who are suffering severely after “the massacre carried out by Syrian leader Golani’s forces,” and to organize humanitarian aid—food and medicine—through the National Emergency Authority.

What happened in Suwayda

Suwayda province witnessed reciprocal violations between Syrian government forces, local factions, and Bedouin tribes in recent weeks.

The events began on July 12 with mutual kidnappings between local factions and residents of the al-Maqous neighborhood in Suwayda city, predominantly inhabited by Bedouins.

The tensions escalated into clashes that prompted government intervention, which later withdrew after Israeli strikes targeted Syrian positions in Suwayda and Damascus.

Local factions then committed violations against Bedouins, sparking anger among tribal communities that dispatched convoys into Suwayda.

On August 16, large demonstrations were held in Suwayda’s al-Karama Square, calling for “self-determination” and waving Israeli flags.

It was the first time such large crowds in Suwayda demanded independence and separation from Syria.