Julis, Israel: Around 600 volunteers, and donations from within the Druze community in northern Israel have ensured humanitarian and logistical support to nearly 600,000 community members living in the Suwayda governorate in Syria.
The Druze in Syria, specifically in the Suwayda province, are facing a “siege”, according to Akram Mansour, the head of the emergency response team set up by the Druze in the Israeli village of Julis.“We are roughly 600 volunteers working day and night to provide support to our families in Syria… we have been able to do so through donations from within the community, as well as small organisations across Israel,” Mansour explained in an interaction with the media in the village of Julis in north-eastern Israel.
“Since 13 July (2025), the Druze in Suwayda have faced attacks by forces in Syria wearing ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) name patches. At least 36 villages have been attacked, and we do not know what has happened to the Druze community living in those villages.”Between 12 July, 2025, and 19 July, 2025, government forces, Bedouins (nomadic Arab tribes) and the Druze clashed in the province of Suwayda in southern Syria.The Druze, a community of roughly 1.5 million people, are found primarily in the Levantine region, with around one million people in Syria, another 200,000 and more in Lebanon and around 154,000 in northern Israel and the Occupied Golan Heights.On 19 July, 2025, the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa declared in place a ceasefire, brokered by the US and other Arab countries in the Suwayda governorate. However, within the week, at least a thousand Druze were killed, according to Mansour.Since the violence first broke out in July 2025, Mansour believes that at least 2,500 Druze have been killed, with the status of their community members in the 36 villages hit by Syrian security forces “unknown”.Israel struck Damascus, Deraa and Suwayda provinces on 16 July, 2025, with Tel Aviv announcing its intention to protect the Druze community in Syria. The heavy fighting between the Bedouins, the Druze and government forces in July 2025 saw all sides accuse the other of atrocities.“This is not the first attack against minorities in Syria. The Yazidis, the Kurds, the Alawites and finally the Druze have all faced massacres since al-Jolani (as al-Sharaa is also known) came to power in December 2024,” said Mansour.Akram Mansour, head of the emergency response team set up by the Druze in Julis | Keshav Padmanabhan | ThePrint
