Clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze militias began around the city of Sweida over the weekend, reportedly after members of a Bedouin group attacked a Druze man at a checkpoint they had made (AP)
This morning, Israel struck the entrance to the Syrian defense ministry in Damascus, sixty-seven miles away (Reuters)
Israel has carried out direct attacks on Syrian government forces for the past three days, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering his military to strike Syrian troops and weapons throughout the Sweida area (WaPo)
An Israeli cabinet member and minister called for Syria’s interim president to be “eliminated” in a social media post (AP)
Syria condemned Israel’s intervention, saying it was a violation of international law (Al Jazeera)
Fighting Continues in Sweida Despite Ceasefire Announcement
Syria’s military advanced into a Druze stronghold to “pursue outlaw groups” (CNN)
Reuters reported that Syrian troops looted and damaged homes (Reuters)
In response, Israel launched strikes against the Syrian forces, as Netanyahu’s administration is determined to protect the Druze population, citing “familial and historical ties” to the group (CNN)
A war monitor based in the United Kingdom (UK) estimated that the death toll had surpassed two hundred people (SOHR)
Violence Between Sunni Bedouin and Druze Groups Persists
The country’s interior ministry said at least thirty people were killed and one hundred injured, while a United Kingdom-based war monitor put the number dead at more than fifty (AP)
The ministry said it was deploying security forces to the region, calling the clashes a “dangerous escalation”; Israel also struck military tanks in the area (BBC)
Sectarian Fighting Erupts in Sweida
Two days after a Druze merchant was allegedly abducted on the highway to Damascus, armed clashes between the Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and the Druze militias broke out; casualty figures were not immediately provided (BBC)
United States Removes HTS From Foreign Terrorist Groups List
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States is revoking Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)’s Foreign Terrorist Organization status; the move comes as the United States considers Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s actions to be “positive” (State)
Trump is reportedly considering offering his support for a peace deal between Syria and Israel if Netanyahu agrees to end the war in Gaza (Times of Israel)
UK Restores Full Diplomatic Ties With Syria
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy made the announcement during a visit to Damascus, arguing that a stable Syria would reduce irregular migration, ensure chemical weapons were destroyed, and help tackle the threat of terrorism; he also pledged $129 million in humanitarian and economic development support (AP)
United States Removes Sanctions on Syria
Trump signed an executive order terminating many sanctions on Syria, while also directing agencies to review the country’s listing as a state sponsor of terrorism and the terrorist designation on the rebel group that ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad (White House)
Trump met with Syria’s interim president—also the former leader of the rebel group—Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia six weeks ago (Axios)
Attack in Damascus
Syria’s interior ministry said the Islamic State was responsible for a suicide attack in a Damascus church that killed more than twenty people (CNN)
It was reportedly the first major Islamic State attack since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December; the group has attempted to rebuild its forces amid the security vacuum in Syria following Assad’s ouster (Guardian)
Israeli Forces Raid Syrian Village, Allegedly Arresting Hamas Fighters
While conducting an operation to detain suspected Hamas militants in Beit Jin in southern Syria, reportedly roughly one hundred Israeli soldiers raided the area, capturing seven alleged Hamas militants and killing one (AP)
Israel Strikes Southern Syria in ‘Retaliatory’ Attack
Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Syria after it said that projectiles were fired from Syria toward Israel yesterday (Reuters; BBC)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa for yesterday’s projectiles, while Syria’s foreign ministry said it could not immediately verify reports of strikes from inside Syria and was working to contain nonstate actors in the country (Times of Israel)
U.S. Forces Begin Drawdown in Syria
Hundreds of U.S. troops withdrew from Syria in recent weeks as part of a planned drawdown, an unnamed U.S. official told Al Arabiya (Al Arabiya)
Separately, the U.S. special envoy to Syria said that the Trump administration now approved the integration of foreign fighters into the Syrian military, which Washington had opposed until at least early May; Syria’s interim government reportedly argued that integrating them into the army is less of a risk than leaving them to potentially join nonstate militant groups (Reuters)
Syria Signs $7 Billion Energy Deal
Syria’s interim government signed a roughly $7 billion preliminary deal with a group of U.S., Turkish, and Qatari companies to build three gas-fired power plants and a solar plant (France24)
The firms aim to complete construction within three years for the gas plants and less than two years for the solar plant; the projects are expected to cover more than 50 percent of Syria’s electricity needs once finished (Reuters)
Reported Israel-Syria Talks
Delegations from Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks in recent weeks to de-escalate tensions, multiple media outlets reported; the countries have a long history of poor relations, which worsened after Israel moved troops into Syria following the rebel takeover last December (FT)
The Israeli and Syrian foreign ministries did not immediately comment, while a Syrian official reported to have participated in the talks denied having done so (Reuters)
EU Lifts Syria Sanctions
The bloc will lift economic sanctions on Syria in an effort to help reconstruction efforts, Kallas said; Germany’s foreign minister said that Brussels seeks a fresh start with Syria but expects “an inclusive policy within the country” (Guardian)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Meets With Syrian Foreign Foreign Minister
The two discussed Syria’s relationship with Israel, concerns over chemical weapons, and the human rights situation in the country (Reuters)
Trump Meets With Al Sharaa, Lifts Sanctions, Will Explore Normalizing Relations
Trump announced the sanctions relief yesterday and met with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa today in Saudi Arabia; the country deserves “a chance at greatness,” Trump said (Reuters)
Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey had called for the United States to ease sanctions on Syria to support reconstruction after its civil war ended last December (NYT)
Trump also urged al-Sharaa to normalize ties with Israel after years of tensions (Al Jazeera)
Israel has opposed granting Syria sanctions relief and escalated its military presence in the country in recent months (DW)
Trump Considering Removal of Syria Sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States could lift its sanctions that it levied during the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, though the United States has yet to officially recognize the country’s new government under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, President Ahmed al-Sharaa decided not to attend this weekend’s Arab League summit in Baghdad follows intense debate in Iraq over his alleged attacks on Shi’ites during his time as a soldier for Al Qaeda in Iraq; Iraq’s prime minister chose to extend an invitation to al-Sharaa in April, which prompted fierce criticisms from Iraqi lawmakers (Reuters)
Al-Sharaa Meets With French President Emmanuel Macron
Macron said he would pursue the progressive removal of European Union (EU) sanctions if Syria moved forward with reforms (EuroNews)
Israel-Syria Security Talks Ongoing Through UAE Backchannels
Sources close to the situation stated that Israel and Syria reportedly began talks in April to exclusively discuss security issues, with a focus on counterterrorism; the sources also indicated that Israel and Syria held informal talks through other channels in the past week, aimed at de-escalating ongoing ethnic violence and Israeli strikes in Syria (Reuters)
In Paris, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa confirmed the two countries are involved in indirect talks to prevent tensions from “spiraling out of control” (Times of Israel)
Israeli Strikes on Syria Kill Two, Injure Eight
Israel’s military stated that the strikes targeted military infrastructure and weapons in Damascus; Israel also struck targets near the Syrian presidential palace the day before, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning Damascus against further violence against the local Druze community (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Strikes in Syria
Israel said that it conducted a strike in Syria against “an extremist group” that targeted members of the minority Druze community; Syria’s foreign ministry said it rejected “all forms of foreign intervention” and pledged to protect the Druze (Reuters)
Israel’s action followed a spate of violence that killed Druze members near Damascus (LA Times)
Clashes Near Damascus
Violence between pro-government fighters and those belonging to the minority Druze sect killed at least ten people near Damascus; an agreement with government representatives and local officials that evening committed to ending the fighting (AP)
Syria’s interior ministry said it was investigating an audio clip, in which a man reportedly criticized the Prophet Muhammad, that circulated on social media and sparked the fighting (Arab News)
UK Lifts More Sanctions on Syrian Security Agencies
The sanctions relief is meant to support Syria’s reconstruction, London said; it had previously lifted restrictions on the country’s energy sector and central bank (NYT)
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund’s head said it hoped to help Syria reenter the global economy (Reuters)
IMF Mission to Syria
The IMF appointed its first head of mission to Syria in fourteen years, interim Syrian finance minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said; Bernieh and Syria’s central bank chief are in Washington for the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, the first official visit by Syria’s interim authorities to the United States since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad (Reuters)
Additionally, as Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa continues to court neighboring countries after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, several Shiite officials in Iraq came forward to criticize Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s decision to invite Al-Sharaa to the Arab League Summit on May 17; Al-Sharaa fought as a Sunni militant for Al-Qaeda in Iraq during the US invasion in 2003 and still faces terrorism charges in Iraq (AP)
Syria Arrests Militant Leaders
Syria’s interim government detained two senior officials from the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the group’s armed wing said (Reuters)
The current authorities in Damascus continue to seek sanctions relief from Western countries, including the United States; last week, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said that Syria’s interim authorities “should fully renounce and suppress terrorism” (WSJ)