Sweida, southwest Syria – Sweida city and several villages in its countryside in southern Syria were subjected to intense shelling on Wednesday by units of the Syrian Defense and Interior Ministries, according to the local news network Sweida24.
The report said that since dawn, government forces have shelled Sweida city as well as the villages of Sahwat Blata and Rasas with artillery and mortar fire, amid reports of casualties. Roads leading to hospitals in Sweida were reportedly blocked, preventing the evacuation of the wounded.
Local outlet Al-Rased cited medical staff at Sweida National Hospital who confirmed the hospital is now out of service and surrounded by heavy military vehicles belonging to the Interior Ministry.
At the same time, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes targeting military vehicles belonging to Syria’s Defense and Interior Ministries in Sweida city and its surroundings, according to Israeli media reports.
The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted military sources saying dozens of Syrian government vehicles were struck in Sweida. Local outlets in southern Syria also reported Israeli air raids on positions near Sweida city and on Brigade 52, a Syrian Defense Ministry base in eastern Daraa province, with reports of deaths and injuries.
Related: Israel Confirms Strikes on Syrian Forces Near Sweida
On Tuesday, Israel’s Channel 12 cited a U.S. official claiming Washington had asked Israel to halt strikes against Syrian army positions in the country’s south. According to the report, Israel pledged to suspend its attacks starting Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Interior Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that clashes with “armed outlaw groups” were still ongoing in Sweida. In a statement posted on Facebook, the ministry said its security forces, supported by army units, had driven armed groups out of central Sweida and were working to restore stability.
According to the ministry, a large meeting was held following the operation, bringing together the province’s Internal Security chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Dalati, religious leaders, and local notables. The parties reportedly agreed to set up permanent security posts in the city and withdraw military vehicles and army units in response to residents’ demands for calm.
However, the Interior Ministry said those agreements were quickly undermined when armed groups resumed what it described as “treacherous attacks” on police and security personnel. The ministry also accused the Israeli Air Force of launching airstrikes “in support of the armed groups,” claiming the raids targeted security and army positions, killing several Interior Ministry and army personnel.
Sweida, a predominantly Druze region, has witnessed a dramatic escalation in violence in recent days, as local armed factions and government forces clash amid accusations of extrajudicial killings, looting, and reprisals.
