Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli has called for the elimination of Syria’s President Ahmad al-Shara amid deadly assaults on Druze minorities, urging global resistance against what he labels a “terror regime in a suit and tie.”
As violence escalates in southern Syria, Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli issued a forceful condemnation of the Syrian regime and its president, Ahmad al-Shara, calling for his immediate elimination in light of what he described as mass atrocities against minority communities.
“We cannot stand by as an Islamist-Nazi terror regime disguised in Western clothing commits massacre after massacre,” Chikli wrote in a social media post, sharing disturbing videos from the ground in Syria. “Ahmad al-Shara is no legitimate leader—he is a brutal terrorist and should be eliminated without delay.”
Chikli’s remarks come amid reports of a massive Syrian regime offensive in the southern city of As-Suwayda, a predominantly Druze region, where government forces under the command of President Al-Julani seized control early Tuesday.
Eyewitness accounts and social media footage point to indiscriminate gunfire on civilians, widespread home invasions, military deployment of tanks, and graphic abuse of captured Druze. While the total number of casualties remains uncertain, early estimates place the death toll between 60 and 100, most of them Druze civilians.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have ordered immediate IDF strikes targeting Syrian military forces and weapons that entered Suwayda.
Spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri, revered within Syria’s Druze community, released an emotional appeal calling the regime’s actions a “genocide on Jabal al-Druze”. He accused Damascus of violating a previously brokered ceasefire and urged Druze around the world to mobilize in defense of their people.
“We must choose whether to endure continued humiliation or rise together to resist it,” al-Hijri said.
The latest round of violence was reportedly sparked on July 11, when the kidnapping of a Druze merchant triggered retaliatory abductions and street battles. Since then, the conflict has snowballed, with Syrian forces expanding their push into Druze regions amid growing resistance.
Local Druze leaders in Suwayda have now declared a general state of mobilization, warning that the situation has escalated into a war for survival.
Minister Chikli criticized what he called the “deafening silence” from European leaders, accusing the international community of failing to act while minorities are slaughtered. He emphasized Israel’s moral obligation to speak and act against the atrocities unfolding across its northern border.
The Syrian regime’s offensive and Israel’s sharp response mark a dangerous new chapter in the region’s instability, underscoring the fragile state of minority protections and the rising threat of sectarian conflict.
