Who are the Druze and why is Israel attacking Syria?

A fresh wave of deadly sectarian violence has rocked Syria, highlighting the country's fragile security landscape.

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On Sunday 13 July, the reported abduction of a merchant from the Druze minority sparked days of deadly clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin fighters in southern Syria.

Later on Tuesday 15 July, Israel intervened militarily, saying its forces were seeking to protect the Druze and to eliminate pro-government forces accused of attacking them in Suweida. At least 350 people are reported to have been killed in Suweida since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The violence is the first in the Druze-majority province of Suweida since fighting in April and May between Druze fighters and Syria's new security forces killed dozens of people. Prior to this, clashes in Syria's coastal provinces in March were said to have killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority, to which former ruler Bashar al-Assad belongs.

The deadly unrest, along with the violent Israeli strikes, have re-ignited fears of a security breakdown in Syria, as the country grapples with the fallout from over a decade of civil war, and the recent Islamist-led rebel takeover of Damascus in December 2024. Syria's current leader, former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect Syria's minorities.