Israel launched multiple attacks in Syria on Wednesday, including two in the capital, Damascus, targeting the Syrian army headquarters and another near the presidential palace.
Amid the insecurity in the country, Sister Maria Lúcia Ferreira, the only Portuguese nun living in this Middle Eastern country, sent a message to the Foundation AIS (Aid to the Church in Need) appealing for Western support.
The nun stated that “the situation is very delicate and urgent,” and confirmed the attacks on the church in Tartous, as well as the attacks in Sweida, where 300 people have died since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
“The situation is really delicate and Christians are afraid and only have one idea in mind, especially the younger ones, which is to leave”, continued Sister Maria Lúcia, who belongs to the Monastery of Unity of Antioch and lives in the Monastery of St. James the Mutilated in the village of Qara. The same source also noted incidents involving the Druze minority, viewed by Israel as a group serving in the armed forces.
Tensions in the region escalated following inter-religious clashes in April between Druze fighters and security forces in Druze areas near Damascus and in Sweida.
Sunni Bedouin tribesmen from Sweida joined the clashes alongside the predominantly Sunni government security forces.
With a population of about 700,000, the province of Sweida houses the largest Druze community in the country, a minority of Shia Islam.
The tensions between Druze and Bedouins are longstanding, with violence erupting sporadically between the two groups.
Many Druze residents in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1980, from places such as Majdal Shams, gathered with Druze flags along the border between the two countries, with some attempting to cross over.
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited the Golan Heights on Wednesday, where he stated that the attacks aim to prevent the neighboring country from “becoming a terrorism stronghold.”
“We are decisively acting to prevent hostile elements from entrenching beyond the border to protect Israeli citizens and prevent Syrian Druze civilians from being harmed,” Zamir stated.
“I have ordered an additional reinforcement of intelligence and attack capabilities to increase the pace of attacks and deter assaults against the Druze in Syria as necessary,” he emphasized.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously stated, Zamir urged Israeli Druze not to cross the border in support of the community members in Syria, assuring that the army would protect them.
