AL-MAZRA’AH: Syrian government forces were advancing toward the southern city of Sweida on Monday after taking control of a Druze village nearby, an AFP correspondent said, on the second day of sectarian clashes there.
Security forces were deployed in Sweida province following clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes that killed at least 89 people since Sunday.
The AFP correspondent saw forces under the Syrian defense ministry deployed in Al-Mazraa village, where Bedouin fighters were also located. The forces continued to advance in the direction of Sweida city.
A commander, Ezzeddine Al-Shamayer, told AFP the forces “are heading toward Sweida.”
The Israeli army said on Monday that it struck several tanks between the villages of Al-Mazraa and Sami that were heading to Sweida.
It added that it would not allow “the establishment of a military threat in southern Syria and will operate against it.”
Druze spiritual leaders called for calm and urged Damascus to intervene.
But Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, expressed his “rejection of the entry” of general security forces into the province, demanding “international protection.”
The fighting underscores the challenges facing interim Syrian leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces ousted president Bashar Assad in December.
![]()
Syria government forces take over Druze village in south
Short Url
https://arab.news/w7fwc
Syria government forces take over Druze village in south
- Forces under the Syrian defense ministry deployed in Al-Mazraa village, where Bedouin fighters were also located
Aid trucks resume crossing Egypt-Gaza border after closure
- More than 100 aid trucks crossed the Egyptian side of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, two sources told AFP
RAFAH: More than 100 aid trucks crossed the Egyptian side of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, two sources told AFP.
Israel closed all crossings into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, after it launched a joint attack on Iran with the United States.
It agreed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, where trucks from Egypt are inspected, for the “gradual entry of humanitarian aid.”
“More than 100 United Nations aid trucks, including UNICEF’s, entered the Rafah border crossing” on Tuesday, a source at the border told AFP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
An official with the Egyptian Red Crescent, which coordinates aid deliveries, said the trucks “went through Rafah to the Kerem Shalom crossing,” where Israeli authorities did not send any back to Egypt — their procedure when aid shipments are rejected.
Both sources said no Palestinians were allowed through the crossing on Tuesday.
The Rafah crossing, the only gateway for Gazans to the outside world that does not pass through Israel, had reopened for a trickle of people on February 2, nearly two years after Israeli forces seized it.
A statement from the Red Crescent on Tuesday said the convoy included hundreds of tons of food, relief supplies and “fuel products to operate hospitals and vital facilities.”
The UN had warned its partners were “forced to ration fuel, prioritize life-saving operations” in the devastated Palestinian territory.
The Red Crescent official said another aid convoy was sent on Wednesday and was waiting to be allowed in.
The October peace deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas stipulates that 600 aid trucks should be allowed in per day.
Israel closed all crossings into the Gaza Strip on Saturday, after it launched a joint attack on Iran with the United States.
It agreed to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, where trucks from Egypt are inspected, for the “gradual entry of humanitarian aid.”
“More than 100 United Nations aid trucks, including UNICEF’s, entered the Rafah border crossing” on Tuesday, a source at the border told AFP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
An official with the Egyptian Red Crescent, which coordinates aid deliveries, said the trucks “went through Rafah to the Kerem Shalom crossing,” where Israeli authorities did not send any back to Egypt — their procedure when aid shipments are rejected.
Both sources said no Palestinians were allowed through the crossing on Tuesday.
The Rafah crossing, the only gateway for Gazans to the outside world that does not pass through Israel, had reopened for a trickle of people on February 2, nearly two years after Israeli forces seized it.
A statement from the Red Crescent on Tuesday said the convoy included hundreds of tons of food, relief supplies and “fuel products to operate hospitals and vital facilities.”
The UN had warned its partners were “forced to ration fuel, prioritize life-saving operations” in the devastated Palestinian territory.
The Red Crescent official said another aid convoy was sent on Wednesday and was waiting to be allowed in.
The October peace deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas stipulates that 600 aid trucks should be allowed in per day.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.