Israel bombed an area around the Presidential Palace in Damascus. This attack followed an accusation from a Druze leader, who accused Syria’s new president, Ahmed Al-Shara, of committing "genocide."

Syria’s most influential Druze religious leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, said in a Thursday announcement that an "unjust campaign of genocide" targeting civilians was underway.

The Druze cleric then called for "immediate intervention from international powers."

He also said: "We no longer trust an entity that claims to be a government. A real government does not turn to its extremist militias to massacre its own people and then claim these were uncontrollable elements."

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 100 people were killed in attacks and clashes earlier this week that targeted the Druze population.

Israel, which is technically still at war with Syria, had threatened to "respond forcefully" if Damascus failed to protect this religious minority.

A few hours later, at dawn on Friday, the Israeli military announced on Telegram that "fighter jets struck the area around the presidential palace."

A clear message

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint written statement saying: "This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow forces to be deployed to the south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community."

UN calls for calm

The United Nations called on "all parties to exercise maximum restraint," while U.S. diplomats condemned the "recent violence and inflammatory rhetoric" against the Druze as "reprehensible and unacceptable."

This week’s clashes in Jaramana and Sahnaya, home to Christian and Druze populations, and in the Druze-majority Suwayda, revived memories of massacres earlier in March in western Syria, where over 1,700 people, mostly Alawites, were killed.