Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has declared the protection of the country’s Druze community and their rights as “our priority,” following Israel’s warning to destroy Syrian government forces allegedly involved in attacks on Druze populations in southern Syria.

In his first televised address since the powerful Israeli airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Sharaa reassured Druze citizens, stating, “We reject any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party.”

He emphasized Syria’s resolve in the face of conflict: “We are not among those who fear war. We have spent our lives confronting challenges and defending our people, but we have always put the interests of Syrians before chaos and destruction.”

Sharaa further accused Israel of escalating tensions in the region, claiming that “the Israeli entity resorted to wide-scale targeting of both civilian and government facilities.” This, he said, “led to a significant complication of the situation and pushed matters toward large-scale escalation.”

According to Sharaa, it was only the “effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation” that prevented the region from plunging into “an unknown fate.”

killed 15 Syrian defense and interior ministry personnel

More than 350 people have been killed in violent clashes in Syria’s southern Sweida province since the weekend, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which updated its earlier death toll of 300.

The UK-based war monitor reported that since fighting broke out on Sunday, 79 Druze fighters have been killed alongside 55 civilians—27 of whom were allegedly executed summarily by members of Syria’s defense and interior ministries. In addition, 189 personnel from those ministries and 18 Bedouin fighters have also died in the ongoing violence.

Among the casualties was journalist Hassan al-Zaabi, identified by the Observatory as a media worker. The Syrian Journalists’ Union confirmed his death in a statement, saying he was shot by “outlaw gangs” in Sweida while carrying out his professional duties. The union did not specify which media outlet he was affiliated with.

The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, additionally reports 15 defense and interior ministry personnel killed in Israeli strikes in southern Syria.