What has been happening in southern Syria this week?

More than 200 people have been killed in southern Syria this week amid clashes between two minority groups.

In response, Israel launched airstrikes. Syria said Israel’s strikes were illegal and killed civilians. Israel said it needs to protect a religious minority in the area.

Separately, Israel has also launched strikes on Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities said Israel struck a refugee camp and other civilian infrastructure, killing 12, while Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets.

Syria

Syria has an interim government, after a coalition of rebels overthrew the Assad family dictatorship last December.

The Assad family had ruled since 1971.

Since the fall of the Assad dictatorship, there have been tensions between ethnic and religious minority groups within Syria over how much control the interim government should have.

Recent conflict

Over the weekend, violence broke out between Druze forces and Bedouin tribes in the city of Suwayda, in southern Syria. The Druze are a religious minority that form a majority of the population in Suwayda.

As the violence escalated, the Syrian Government deployed military forces to Suwayda to control the conflict. This led to more violence.

The independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll was 203, including militants, Government soldiers, and civilians.

Israel then launched airstrikes on Monday and Tuesday.

The Syrian Government condemned Israel’s attacks, calling them “a flagrant breach of the principles of international law”.

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It said Israel had killed “several innocent civilians,” as well as soldiers.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said “the presence” of the troops in the area “may pose a threat”.

Israel illegally occupies the Golan Heights in the south of Syria.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said it is “committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria”.

There is a Druze population in the Golan Heights and in Israel.

Lebanon strikes

Also this week, Lebanese state media has reported that IDF strikes killed 12 people in the country’s east. It said one of the IDF strikes targeted a Syrian refugee camp.

Local governor Bachir Khodr said the dead included a family of five Syrians, and that at least eight others had been injured.

The IDF said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure. Australia lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah said Israel’s strikes hit civilian infrastructure.

Lebanon and Israel

These Israeli strikes were the deadliest since Hezbollah and Israel signed a ceasefire deal in November 2024.

The most recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel started shortly after Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October, when Hezbollah started regularly launching missiles and rockets.

In September 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon. A ceasefire was negotiated two months later. Both sides have accused each other of breaking it.