The Druse Connection
7th May 2025
Last week, Syrian Sunni jihadists attacked Druse communities in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The Israel Air Force (IAF) intervened by striking Syrian jihadi personnel and positions, including a site adjacent to the Syrian presidential palace. Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen delivered a resounding blow against Israel on Sunday, when one of their ballistic missiles penetrated Israeli defences and landed next to Israel’s main international airport, briefly halting almost all international flights to and from the Jewish state, except those operated by Israeli airlines. Israel retaliated with a twenty-plane strike against Houthi economic installations. Further strikes are likely—and, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted, these may also target Iran, the Houthis’ political and military patron. Meanwhile, Israel’s cabinet has authorised the immediate call-up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists in preparation for an “expansion” of the country’s war-making against Hamas, which has been more or less stalemated for months.