Israeli security forces overnight returned dozens of Druze citizens who had crossed into Syria a day earlier, as well as several Syrians who entered Israel during rare and chaotic border unrest. Efforts to locate and repatriate additional individuals are ongoing.
According to Israeli estimates, around 1,000 Druze crossed the border into Syria, while several hundred Syrians entered Israel.
Hundreds of Israeli Druze cross into Syria
(Video: Efi Sharir)
The cross-border movement unfolded amid a fragile ceasefire in Syria’s southern Sweida province, a predominantly Druze region that saw five days of intense fighting and reports of atrocities. Syrian state media confirmed that regime forces began withdrawing from the provincial capital late Wednesday, as part of a truce brokered with senior Druze leaders.
The IDF Northern Command reported early signs of the ceasefire being implemented but remains on high alert in the area, ready to respond if hostilities resume. Reinforcement units remain deployed along Israel’s northern frontier, with military engineers preparing to install physical barriers—including concrete blocks and triple-pronged pyramids—between Majdal Shams and the Syrian town of Hader.
The unrest took an unusual political turn when several Israeli lawmakers crossed into Syria on Wednesday. Among them was Yisrael Beytenu MK Hamad Amar, who said he entered Hader to extract Druze youths who had crossed into Syria. “I got in around 2 p.m. and left by 10 p.m.,” he told Ynet. “I hope I didn’t leave a single youth behind.”
Amar described horrific scenes inside Sweida: “What happened yesterday in the Druze mountains was militias, backed by the regime, entering villages—raping girls aged 5, 7 and 10, killing women and men, burning homes and continuing on. We’re talking about a massacre. This was like October 7. Humiliating elders, shaving their beards and killing them? It reminded me of the Holocaust.”
He also condemned Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, widely known by his former jihadist alias, Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “It’s all under the authority of al-Golani’s regime. Don’t be fooled by the suit—this man personally slaughtered people and raped women in his past,” Amar said. “We must not allow this monster to grow on our northern border.”
In Damascus, al-Sharaa accused Israel of fueling instability. “The Israeli entity is trying to turn our land into a theater of chaos,” he said in a speech following the ceasefire announcement. “The Syrian people will always fight for their dignity. We seek justice for those who harmed our Druze citizens.”
He addressed Syria’s Druze community directly, assuring them they are an “inseparable part of the nation” and pledging to protect their rights and freedoms. He reiterated his government’s decision to delegate local security in Sweida to tribal and religious leaders to avoid further confrontation. “Since the fall of the regime, Israel has tried to dismantle Syria,” he claimed. “Instead of helping us calm the situation, it escalated it.”
The ceasefire follows widespread reports of mass killings and abuse targeting Druze civilians, with multiple sources citing execution-style killings, arson and public humiliation. The full scale of the violence remains under investigation.