“Syria will not compromise its sovereignty or security and will continue to defend the rights of its people by all available means,” it said, urging Arab states and the international community to support the country.
Israel’s attack was the second of its kind this week, with Israeli officials saying they wanted to send a message to Syria’s transitional government, led by al-Sharaa.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz shortly after the attack.
Reconnaissance aircraft have continuously been flying at low altitudes over the Syrian capital and its countryside since yesterday, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. Sources close to the Syrian government said the drones belong to the Israeli military.
More than 100 people were killed this week during fighting between pro-government forces and Druze fighters in Syria.
The violence has been condemned as a “genocidal campaign” by Syria’s Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who called for an immediate intervention by “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes”.
On Thursday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged the international community to “fulfil its role in protecting the minorities in Syria – especially the Druze – from the regime and its gangs of terror”.
Israel has previously called Syria’s transitional government a “terror group from Idlib that took Damascus by force”.
Reporting from Damascus on Friday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said the Israeli attack “hit in the vicinity of the presidential palace” but did not cause any damage.
“The Israelis are calling it a warning shot, saying that the Syrian government needs to protect the Druze community. But that’s actually been met with cynicism from senior Druze leaders, saying that [they] actually don’t need Israel to help protect [them],” Khan explained.
He added that “intense negotiations” have been taking place between the Syrian Druze community and the government. “This has now led to a calming down of tensions,” Khan said.