Israel sent weapons, aid to Druze militia in Sweida following al-Assad’s ouster: Report

Shortly after the fall of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Israel delivered weapons and ammunition to arm the Military Council in the Druze stronghold of Sweida province in southern Syria, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Citing two Israeli officials, the report said that on December 17, 2024 Israeli helicopters began airdropping weapons shipments packed alongside humanitarian aid “to arm a Druze militia called the Military Council” following the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa whose forces ousted al-Assad in a lightning offensive.

According to current and former Israeli officials, Israel seeks to complicate al-Sharaa’s efforts to unify the country by “supporting allied Druze militiamen.”

The report found that weapons transfer peaked in April after Druze fighters clashed with fighters aligned with al-Sharaa.

Israel, which seized ground in southwest Syria after al-Assad’s fall, had also vowed to protect the Druze, hence it “responded by sending mostly used weapons that Israeli forces obtained from dead Hezbollah and Hamas fighters,” the report said citing a former Israeli official, a Druze commander in Syria and a financial middleman.

The transfer of weapons however receded in August after” Israel pivoted to negotiating with al-Sharaa.”

According to Druze leaders in Syria and a former Israeli official, Israel continues to carry out “airdrops of nonlethal military equipment such as body armor and medical supplies to Syrian Druze fighters.”

Israel is also providing monthly payments between $100 to $200 to about 3,000 Druze fighters, two Druze officials said.