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Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
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Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

The Israeli military carried out a warning strike against "extremists" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the Syrian town of Sahnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF (military) carried out a warning action and struck the organization of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population in the town of Sahnaya, in the Damascus region of Syria," said the statement.

The Israeli announcement came after an eruption of deadly sectarian violence in predominantly Druze areas near Damascus.

The Israeli statement also said a message "was passed on to the Syrian regime - Israel expects it to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze."

A spokesman for Syria's interior ministry, speaking to Reuters from Sahnaya said he had no indication that an attack had taken place.

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Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Pope Leo, whose role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become notably stark since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church last week, told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that he opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Vatican said Abbas, who leads the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, had phoned the pope on Monday, three days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and expressed regret over the strike on Gaza's Holy Family church.

Israel has said the strike, which killed three people and wounded the church's parish priest, was a mistake, Reuters reported.

The small church in Gaza has been a focus of papal advocacy for peace throughout the war in the territory. Pope Leo's predecessor Pope Francis spoke to the parish nightly.

In Monday's conversation with Abbas, Leo condemned the "indiscriminate use of force" and any "forced mass displacement" of people in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican said.

Israel has said it wants Gazans to move to a special humanitarian zone in Gaza or leave the territory voluntarily. All mainstream Palestinian groups and neighbouring Arab states have rejected any plan that would displace them.

In emotional remarks on Sunday after his weekly Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed at the church in Gaza and called for an end to the "barbarity of war".