Middle East: Syria leader vows to protect Druze

• Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has vowed accountability over violence against Druze
• UK-based war monitor says at least 360 have been killed in Sweida
• Israel carried out attacks on Damascus on Wednesday, claiming support for Druze

Below, you'll find a roundup of the developments in Syria, Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle East on Thursday, July 17:

07/17/2025July 17, 2025

Druze 'a fundamental part of the fabric' of Syria, Sharaa says

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has said that protecting the country's Druze minority "is one of our priorities" aftersectarian violence in southern Druze-majority regions killed hundreds of people.

"We are keen on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people, as they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," Sharaa said in a televised address on Thursday morning.

Sharaa said that "responsibility" for security in the city of Sweida, the main site of violence in the past days, would be handed to religious elders and some local factions "based on the supreme national interest."

This comes after government forces were deployed to the city on Tuesday to restore order following deadly clashes between Druze fighters and local Bedouin tribes.

Some witnesses reported, however, that the government forces had also attacked fighters and civilians from the Druze community.

Syria's Islamist-led authorities, who took power after toppling longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, have been accused of not doing enough to protect the country's religious and ethnic minorities.

In March, groups affiliated with the government were blamed for killing hundreds of mostly Alawite civilians in their coastal heartlands. 

Government forces also clashed with Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May, leaving more than 100 people dead.

07/17/2025July 17, 2025

'We are beyond vocabulary' on Gaza — UN emergency relief chief

UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher has told the UN Security Council that Israel should be held accountable for its actions in Gaza in the same way as other states, warning that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave was catastrophic.

"Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies. But that is not happening," Fletcher said on Wednesday. "Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity."

He added that the situation was such that "we are beyond vocabulary to describe conditions in Gaza."

"Food is running out," he continued. "Those seeking it risk being shot. People are dying trying to feed their families."

"We don't have to choose — and in fact, we must not choose — between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages," he went on.

"And we must reject antisemitism. We must fight it with every fiber of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states," he said.

Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led militants carried out attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians died, and 250hostages were taken.

In Gaza, the death toll from Israel's operations has surpassed 58,000, according to figures from the Health Ministry run by Hamas but considered reliable by the UN.

07/17/2025July 17, 2025

Welcome to our Middle East coverage

Sectarian violence against Syria's Druze community has dominated headlines in the Middle East in the past few days, as the country's Islamist-led government struggles to contain tensions between various ethnicities and religious groupings.

The events in Syria have drawn attention away from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN emergency relief chief says conditions beggar any description.

Here, DW will bring you up-to-date reports, explainers and analysis on developments across the Middle East.