As a wave of Israeli attacks on Syrian forces rocks the fragile crust of a Middle East peace, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is trying to stop a full-scale war from erupting.
After two days of Israeli attacks on Syrian forces, Rubio said he was hopeful the attacks would stop.
“It’s complicated, obviously. These are historic, longtime rivalries between different groups in the southwest of Syria — Bedouins, the Druze community — and it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side,” Rubio said in a video posted to X.
“So we’ve been engaged with them all morning long and all night long, with both sides, and we think we’re on our way towards a real de-escalation,” he said.
.@SecRubio on Syria: “These are historic, longtime rivalries … and it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding … We’re on our way towards a real de-escalation … In the next few hours, we hope to see some real progress to end what you’ve been seeing.” pic.twitter.com/2cMcnLdDm7
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 16, 2025
“And then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East that’s far more stable. So, in the next few hours, we hope to see some real progress to end what you’ve been seeing over the last couple hours,” he said.
Most of Syria is Muslim, but the Druze have their own faith. Last year, after a Muslim-controlled government took power, Druze communities expressed their fears that they could become targets of the new regime, which has said it seeks to respect all faiths, and sought to be annexed by Israel, which has its own Druze communities.
On Wednesday, as Rubio spoke in Washington, Syrian and Druze leaders said they had reached a cease-fire, according to NBC. That came after Israeli air strikes hit targets in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Will tensions pick up in the Middle East?
Announcement of the cease-fire drew skepticism from Druze leaders in Syria, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog sounded an aggressive note on the subject Wednesday as Israeli attacks continued.
“Israel does not stand idly by when there is even the potential for a jihadist threat over the border,” he said.
“Second, Israel does not stand idly by when our allies and family members of Israelis – the sons and daughters of the Druze community, an integral part of us – are under attack and in danger of a horrific massacre,” he said.
Israel’s intervention was precipitated by attacks on the Druze from Muslim Bedouin clans near the city of Sweida that left almost 100 dead, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, “Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria, and we are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them, and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria.”
Israeli airstrikes on Syrian government forces continue in the Sweida area, the IDF says, releasing footage.
The IDF says strikes in the past few hours hit armored vehicles and pickup trucks with mounted machine guns, that were heading to the Druze majority city of Sweida where… pic.twitter.com/uNZgcvjadQ
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 16, 2025
The advance of Syrian troops into the region violated “the demilitarization policy that was decided, prohibiting the entry of forces and weapons into southern Syria that endanger Israel,” the statement said.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine Al-Baba said, the “clashes are fundamentally not sectarian in nature.”
“The real conflict is between the state and bandits and criminals, not between the state and any Syrian community,” he said. “On the contrary, the state views the Druze community in Sweida as a partner in advancing the national unity project.”
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