The clashes reportedly began when Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable merchant in Sweida, prompting his family to retaliate by detaining Bedouin tribal members. In response, Bedouin tribes kidnapped over a dozen Druze youth, leading to armed confrontations throughout the city and surrounding areas.

By Monday morning, Syrian security forces were deployed to the city to restore calm. The Interior Ministry described the situation as chaotic and warned that the absence of effective state authority was fueling a wider security breakdown.

A Druze lawyer and activist, Ayman Shib Al Deen, who tracks casualties at local morgues, said at least 52 people had been killed and 200 wounded by Monday night.

Israel Sends Message To Damascus

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said the airstrikes served as a warning to Syria’s government, signaling that Israel would not tolerate threats to the Druze minority. The Israeli army stated that the tanks it hit were approaching Sweida and posed a potential threat.

It remains unclear whether the targeted tanks belonged to the Syrian army or to one of several militias operating in the area. Israel has long viewed the Druze population in southern Syria as a strategic buffer and has provided aid and services to build local support.

Meanwhile, efforts by the Trump administration to normalize relations between Israel and Syria appear increasingly complicated by the renewed violence and Israeli military actions near the border.