The United States has reportedly asked Israel to cease bombing the Syrian capital of Damascus as Tel Aviv claims to defend the Druze minority from sectarian violence, a senior defense official told Axios Wednesday.
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has reportedly made several phone calls to Israeli officials calling for de-escalation of the conflict, according to Axios. The bombing began on Tuesday as reports of violence against the Druze minority and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria circulated, which prompted the new Syrian government to intervene.
However, Israel began its strikes on Syria in retaliation, citing a commitment to protecting the religious and ethnic minority. Now, U.S. officials are pleading with Israel to resolve things peacefully with the new Syrian government, which toppled former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
“We told the Israelis to stand down and take a breath,” the senior official told Axios.
The Druze were a key ally of the Assad regime, previously enjoying religious freedom under his rule. However, opinions differ in the communities on how to approach dealing with the new government, which has still left the question open on how it will treat the various minorities in Syria.
“The Syrian regime must let the Druze in Suwayda go and withdraw its forces,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement shared by his spokesperson. “The (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area – and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”
Syria was seen as a potential candidate to join the Abraham Accords with its new government, which would pave the way for normalization of relations between Israel and the Levantine state. However, the new bombing campaign puts major question marks over any sort of normalization, as Syria has publicly condemned the Israeli campaign while attempting to institute a fragile ceasefire with the Druze.
The Pentagon referred to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Republished with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation
