Tel Aviv/Damascus, July 16 (UNI) Amid Israeli military’s direct attack on Syria’s Defence Ministry and Presidential Palace due to violence against Syria’s ethnic Druze community, the IDF has announced its intention to continue despite appeals from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of Star Marco Rubio to cease its bombardment.
According to Axios, Washington’s special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack held several phone calls yesterday and today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser Ron Dermer to push for de-escalation.
“We told the Israelis to stand down and take a breath,” the senior American official said, adding that the administration is pushing for direct talks between Israel and Syria to solve the crisis.
Dermer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The IDF had launched attacks in Damascus before as a warning to the Syrian government to not harass its indigenous Druze natives, as Tel Aviv has vowed to protect them in Syria following an appeal by the Israeli Druze leaders to the government to ensure the safety of their brethren in Syria.
Despite the US bid for calm after the attacks, the IDF in said that it’s sending reinforcements to the border with Syria to facilitate more strikes and stop the attacks against the Druze, stating “Israel will not allow a massacre of Druze in Syria.”
Prior to the IDF attacks, the Israeli Druze spiritual leadership had also called on its community to prepare to assist their Syrian counterparts “by all means necessary,” calling for a general strike and national days of rage and mourning across Israel.
