The Sweida province in southern Syria, home to the country’s Druze community and known as Jabal al-Druze (the Druze Mountain), is now facing an acute humanitarian crisis. The province has been placed under a hermetic siege. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who now leads Syria after his December 2024 coup, has set himself a clear goal: eliminate all power centers in the country and impose Islamic law while erasing minorities from the political map.
After massacring Alawites and Druze, and successfully subduing the Kurds, al-Jolani is now throwing his full weight into breaking apart the Druze, sowing division among them, and conquering Sweida province. We all remember the massacre he carried out against our Druze brethren about a year and a half ago. Today, the Syrian regime is applying enormous pressure on the province to force it into submission.
The Last Stronghold
The Druze province of Sweida, also known as Jabal al-Hauran, has become the last major obstacle standing in the way of the regime’s complete sovereignty. The Kurds have merged with the regime, the Alawites have been brutally suppressed and suffer daily from harassment and murder. Only the Druze still constitute an opposition to the regime.
Just two weeks ago, the leader of Syria’s Druze, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, said the Druze community in Syria considers itself part of Israel: “We are an inseparable part of the State of Israel. Even in faith we are partners with this state, the State of Israel,” al-Hijri said in his statement.
1+Beyond that, every Druze—whether in Israel or Syria—knows with certainty that without Israel’s involvement, the Syrian regime together with its Bedouin allies from the Daraa area would have annihilated all the Druze. Israel has prevented the elimination of the Druze more than once. The prime minister and defense minister have said the Druze are a red line for Israel. But in recent days, the Damascus regime, with Turkish backing, has set up checkpoints leading into the province—dozens of Turkish-made military vehicles can be seen in the attached video.
Siege and Encirclement
For several days now, the Syrian regime has been blocking the supply of food like flour, medicine, fuel, and other essential goods into the province. Numerous Syrian internal security checkpoints have been positioned on the Damascus-Sweida highway, preventing all movement from and to Sweida. The shortages are already being felt: in the last 24 hours, water pumping in Sweida was cut off, power outages were recorded, and even the generator at the Sweida hospital is not functioning. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating, supplies are not being replenished, and there is a food shortage.
1+Who Will Save Them?
There is no doubt that the Druze in Sweida have no savior other than Israel, as the community is in direct and continuous contact with Israeli decision-makers. The Americans, and especially envoy Tom Barak, abandoned the minorities long ago. Barak, who is considered very close to Erdoğan, dismisses the minorities and even fully supports the Syrian regime and its leader.
Given this situation, the Druze have only Israel. The defense minister should order the IDF to transfer food and fuel to Sweida province, in shipments that will include weapons and drones. Defending the Druze in Sweida is first and foremost a moral obligation and also a security imperative—Israel has no interest in seeing the regime’s ISIS-like soldiers on our border.