Syrian security forces at a checkpoint near Damascus, May 1, 2025 (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)

UPDATE, MAY 3:

Israel continued airstrikes across Syria overnight, with attacks outside Damascus and on the Daraa, Hama, Latakia, and Quneitra provinces.

State news agency SANA said one civilian was killed at Harasta near Damascus and four people were wounded near Hama.

An Israeli military helicopter reportedly landed on a base run by the Suwayda Military Council, a Druze faction opposed to the Government, in southern Syria.

The SMC, headed by Sheikh Hikmat Salman al-Hijri, opposes an agreement made by other Druze leaders with Damascus to end sectarian violence and bring Druze men into the security forces. The Council’s leadership includes three former generals of the Assad regime.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, posted:

I strongly condemn Israel’s continued and escalating violations of Syria’s sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities.

I call for these attacks to cease at once and for Israel to stop endangering Syrian civilians and to respect international law and Syria’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence.

UPDATE 1405 GMT:

Syria’s Presidency says the overnight Israeli attacks on Damascus, including an airstrike 100 meters from the Presidential Palace, are a “dangerous escalation”.

The Presidency condemned the “serious escalation against state institutions and its sovereignty” as a “reprehensible attack [that] reflects the continued reckless actions seeking to destabilize the country and exacerbate security crises”.

The office assured, “Syria will not compromise its sovereignty or security and will continue to defend the rights of its people by all available means.”

UPDATE 1300 GMT:

Writing for Reuters, Amina Ismail reports on evictions of Alawites from their homes near Damascus by members of the General Security Service.

Bashar al-Assad, overthrown in December, and many in his regime are members of the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shi’a Islam. His downfall, after the regime’s decades of deadly repression, brought concerns of retribution against Alawites.

In March, hundreds of Alawites were among victims of section fighting in western Syria.

Ismail cites “Syrian officials, Alawite leaders, human rights groups and 12 people with similar accounts” about the evictions.

Two government officials said thousands of people, the majority Alawites, had been removed from housing associated with their jobs in regime institutions.

But other officials and residents spoke of removals from privately-owned homes.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the GSS, and the President’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

UPDATE 1247 GMT:

Trying to build on agreements with Druze factions to end sectarian violence, the Interior Ministry in #Damascus has fast-tracked the approval of 700 Druze militiamen to join Public Security in Suwayda city — the center of the Druze community in southern Syria — and on the country’s borders.

Another 1,300 applications are being processed.

Talks are underway to form a dedicated Druze military brigade in Suwayda, within the Defense Ministry’s chain of command.

UPDATE 1028 GMT:

Hassan Hassan reports on unrest among Druze in Israel over the Netanyahu Government’s attacks on Syria:

In contrast, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thanked him for the airstrikes on Damascus.

According to a readout from Netanyahu’s office, Tarif said the Government “sent a deterrent message to the Syrian regime regarding Israel’s commitment to the Druze community in Syria”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, MAY 2: Israel has renewed its airstrikes on Syria’s capital Damascus.

The Israelis struck early Thursday and early Friday, on the pretext that they are defending the Druze community against Sunni attackers.

Friday’s missile landed near the Presidential Palace in southern Damascus. The Israel Defense Forces did not identify the target.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement, “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”

Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in early December, Israel has recurrently struck military facility and other sites. Its ground forces have seized part of southwest Syria, with “protection of the Druze” among the justifications.

See also Israel’s Deadly Attacks Inside Syria

On Tuesday, Sunni gunmen fought with Druze groups in the predominantly Druze area of Jaramana. The violence was sparked by a voice recording cursing the Prophet Mohammad, which some Sunni factions suspected was made by a Druze.

More than a dozen people were reported killed on Tuesday, and the violence spread to the mainly Druze town of Sahnaya on Damascus’ outskirts on Wednesday.

But on Thursday, a disarmament deal was announced in Jaramana to end the conflict, as well as a “framework deal” in Suwayda, the center of the Druze community.

The Syrian Government also announced that order had been restored in Sahnaya, southwest of Damascus, after sectarian clashes.

“Syria is our mother nation, we do not have an alternative country,” Sheikh Laith al-Balous said of Israel’s claims for its strikes. “We don’t need anyone’s protection.”