More than 600 Druze families have fled the suburbs of Damascus to Druze villages in Syria’s Mount Hermon region, following a massacre carried out by forces loyal to Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
At least 120 Druze civilians were killed and dozens more abducted in last week’s attack on the towns of Sahnaya and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. Witnesses say regime gunmen raided homes in predominantly Druze neighborhoods, prompting a wave of displacement toward the Hermon region. Local villagers there have opened their homes to the displaced, many of whom are arriving with little or no belongings.
A woman identified only as A., who fled with her husband and two-month-old son from the town of Jaramana, told Ynet she feared for their lives. “After the brutal killings, I asked my husband to flee immediately,” she said. “We left Thursday night. It was terrifying. We pretended we were just visiting friends, but I feared for my baby and my husband. Thank God we made it.”
She said she brought only minimal supplies, fearing they would be stopped. “We didn’t want them to suspect we were fleeing,” she said. “Now we’re staying with a Druze family and receiving humanitarian aid that arrived from Israel. It’s heartwarming to see such compassion and unity.”
Another Druze family from a different Damascus suburb described repeated home invasions by regime fighters. “Seven men with long hair and beards stormed into our home. They barely spoke Arabic and stole everything—jewelry, money, computers, phones. They even sat and ate like madmen,” said the father. “They came to kill, loot and humiliate.”
The family escaped to Mount Hermon within hours despite having no relatives in the area. “We had to run,” he said. “At any moment, they could have slaughtered us.”
Tensions are escalating in the southern province of As-Suwayda, the largest Druze population center in the Middle East, where residents fear an assault by al-Julani’s forces. The province remains under curfew, and pro-regime forces are blocking the delivery of food, fuel and medical supplies. Observers say the blockade aims to pressure Druze leaders to surrender weapons and submit to the central government.
In Israel, the Ziv Medical Center in the northern city of Safed has treated 32 injured Druze civilians evacuated from the fighting since April 30. Among them are women, children and men. Nineteen remain hospitalized in orthopedic, neurosurgical, pediatric and high-risk maternity wards.
Over the weekend, the Israeli Air Force secured aerial evacuations of wounded Druze from southern Syria and air-dropped humanitarian aid to Druze communities on Mount Druze. On Saturday, the IDF said it had struck multiple targets across Syria, including military sites, anti-aircraft systems and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.
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“Twelve fighter jets struck dozens of infrastructure elements and weapons systems,” the military said, adding that senior air force commanders oversaw the operation from headquarters. “The IDF will continue to act to ensure aerial freedom and remove threats in the region.”
A day earlier, Israel reportedly launched a strike near the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus as a warning to President al-Sharaa following his forces' brutal crackdown on the Druze. Syrian officials condemned the strike as a “dangerous escalation.”