Israel's military chief has said it struck "operatives" who attacked civilians from the Druze community on the outskirts of Damascus, after an outbreak of sectarian violence that has reportedly killed more than 40 people. Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said he had instructed Israeli forces to prepare to strike Syrian government targets if such attacks on the religious minority continued. A BBC team witnessed air strikes around the mainly Druze town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and neighbouring Sahnaya, and heard the sound of sporadic but heavy gunfire. Syrian forces later said they had completed an operation there to "restore security and stability" after attacks by "outlaw groups" killed 16 of their personnel.

Israel said it carried out a strike in Syria against extremists who attacked members of the Druze community, following through on a promise to protect the minority group as sectarian violence spread near Damascus on Wednesday. It appeared to be Israel's first military action in support of Syrian Druze since Bashar al-Assad was toppled, reflecting its deep mistrust of the Sunni Islamists who replaced him and posing a further challenge to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts to establish control over the fractured nation. A Syrian Interior Ministry source told Reuters Israeli drone strikes targeted government security forces, killing one of their members, in the mainly Druze town of Sahnaya on Damascus' outskirts. The Druze adhere to a faith that is an offshoot of Islam and have followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Israel’s military struck a gathering of “extremists” in Syria preparing attacks against the country’s Druze population, according to a joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, which warned that Israel expects the new Syrian government to prevent harm to the minority community. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a targeted airstrike against what officials described as an extremist group in Syria’s Damascus Governorate. The group was reportedly plotting to continue sectarian violence against the Druze community in the southern city of As-Suweida, roughly 50 miles from the capital. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz emphasized Israel’s “deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel” and vowed to defend their relatives in Syria.