Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday that some atrocities committed against Syria’s Druze community earlier this year surpassed the horrors of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Addressing a delegation of 250 U.S. lawmakers from 50 states at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, “The things we encountered on October 7, in Syria, in the wanton attack on our Druze neighbors —a non-Islamic sect living in the mountains—and what they endured, exceeded in some cases, what we saw on October 7.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks
(Video: Lior Sharon)
He accused Hamas of killing 1,200 Israeli citizens, burning children alive, raping and murdering women, beheading people and taking hostages, including Holocaust survivors, to Gaza. Netanyahu also alleged that China and Qatar are imposing a blockade on Israel in service of Iran.
Netanyahu described the regional conflict as a broader fight against Iran, saying, “On October 8, Hezbollah joined, firing rockets. I said that day we’d change the Middle East. From day one, it was clear we’re not just fighting Hamas, but Iran. We eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, and the murderous [former Syrian dictator Bashar] Assad collapsed. Iran aimed to destroy Israel, and we knew if we didn’t act, they’d have a nuclear bomb within a year.”
In April, militias aligned with Syria’s new regime executed Druze civilians near Damascus, followed by Bedouin raids on Druze villages in the southern Sweida province in July. Druze leaders denounced the violence as genocide, and Israel launched military strikes against those it held responsible.
Last month, Netanyahu addressed Israel’s role. “A few weeks ago, we stopped the savage massacre of the Druze,” he said. “These people who hate them hate us and hate America and they chant the same thing, ‘Death to America, death to Israel, death to the Jews, death to the heathen.’ And the Druze happen to be the heathen, a small minority.”
Describing the atrocities, he said, “They went into their town of Sweida and they butchered the men. They raped the women, the nurses and then shot them. They burned babies and they added a few things... You see a Druze civilian wounded lying on the ground and one of these fanatics, unbelievable savages, they go in, knife the guy, tear out his heart and then eat it. And it takes a few seconds for death to come.”
On Monday, Likud MK Akram Hasson, who is Druze, urged Netanyahu in a letter to grant full Israeli citizenship to Druze villagers in the Golan Heights, arguing, “This historic, just step will strengthen societal unity, anchor Israeli sovereignty and send a clear message to the world.”