Overview

• Israeli warplanes struck near the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, signaling a warning to protect the Druze minority from further violence.
• The Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, condemned the violence as a 'genocidal campaign' and called for immediate international intervention.
• Sectarian clashes in Druze-populated suburbs of Jaramana and Sahnaya have left over 100 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
• Syria's interim government deployed security forces to restore calm in key areas but rejected foreign interference following the airstrikes.
• France, the United States, and the United Nations have urged restraint and condemned the violence, while Israel defended its actions as necessary to protect the Druze community.