Israel said on Friday, July 18, it was sending humanitarian aid to Syria's Sweida province, following days of deadly clashes in the Druze heartland. "In light of the recent attacks targeting the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian situation in the area, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has ordered the urgent transfer of humanitarian aid to the Druze population in the region," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two million shekels (nearly $600,000) package includes food parcels and medical supplies, the ministry said, noting it had previously sent humanitarian aid to the Druze in Syria in March.
The Sweida area witnessed sectarian bloodshed this week, with hundreds reportedly killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies. Israel carried out air strikes against government troops in and around the Sweida area, with the stated objectives of preventing a build-up of the Syrian military near its borders and protecting the Druze community.
It also shelled government buildings in Damascus on Wednesday to pressure Syria's Islamist-led government to withdraw its troops from the Druze heartland. Government forces pulled out of the area on Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 594 people had been killed in the clashes. Earlier on Friday, the Israeli army denied reports on the Syrian state news agency, SANA, that it had conducted additional strikes near Sweida on Thursday night.