The army said in a statement posted on its Twitter account that it had attacked "dozens of infrastructure and combat equipment across Syria last night with 12 fighter jets," noting that the attacks targeted "anti-aircraft guns and a surface-to-air missile platform."
The Israeli occupation army threatened to continue its attacks in Syria "to eliminate any threat in the region," it claimed.
On Friday evening, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that "Israeli aircraft targeted the vicinity of the village of Shatha in the northwestern countryside of Hama Governorate" (central). The agency indicated that the raid resulted in "four injuries," without specifying their health conditions.
The agency added that "other raids targeted the vicinity of the city of Harasta in the Rif Dimashq province" (south), resulting in one death. Another raid targeted the vicinity of the city of Izraa in the Daraa province countryside (south). SANA did not specify the targets hit by the raids.
At dawn on Friday, the Israeli occupation army announced an airstrike on an area adjacent to the presidential palace in the capital, Damascus. Tel Aviv described the strike as a "warning message" to the Syrian administration in Damascus.
In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz commented on the bombing, saying, "This is a clear message to the Syrian regime (the new administration): We will not allow the deployment of forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze."
The Israeli strike came hours after a video statement issued by Druze leaders, authorities, and dignitaries on Thursday affirmed their commitment to "united Syria," stressing their rejection of partition or secession. The statement also came after the Syrian government agreed with dignitaries in Jaramana, a Druze-populated town in the Damascus countryside, to enhance security and hand over loose weapons.
The statement represents a slap in the face to Israel, which is attempting to exploit the minority issue, particularly the Druze in southern Syria, to consolidate its interventions and violations of Syrian sovereignty and impose a separatist reality, even as Damascus asserts that all sects in the country enjoy equal rights without discrimination.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ashrafieh Sahnaya and Jaramana areas, home to a large Druze population in the Damascus countryside, witnessed security tensions following the spread of an audio recording attributed to a Druze member that included "insults" to the Prophet Muhammad.
Security forces, in coordination with local leaders, were able to restore calm in the two areas after civilian and security personnel were killed in attacks launched by "outlaw" armed groups seeking to "sow chaos and create strife."
These developments come amid escalating warnings about Israel's attempts to exploit the Druze to impose its intervention in Syria, even as Damascus asserts that all components of the population are equal in rights.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights. Taking advantage of the new situation in the country following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Israel occupied the Syrian buffer zone and declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two sides.
