Defense Minister Israel Katz called on the Syrian regime this morning (Wednesday) to withdraw its forces from the Sweida region and stop its actions against the Druze in the area. He said that Israel will not abandon the Druze and will enforce the policy of demilitarization that was established.

Katz added that the IDF will continue to attack Syrian regime forces until they withdraw from the area, and warned that the threshold for responses would be raised soon if the message is not understood.

The security establishment is preparing for escalation with Syria, and as a result, the IDF has deployed two additional battalions to the Israel-Syria border, fearing mass attempts to breach the fence by Druze from Israel.

This includes a reinforcement battalion from the Border Police and another battalion from the training base of the Golani Brigade. These two battalions join the Border Police battalion that was already deployed yesterday to reinforce the forces in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported last night that the number of fatalities resulting from the recent unrest in southern Syria stands at about 203 people. It was further reported that about 20 Druze civilians were executed by the regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa during violent clashes between Druze fighters and groups of gunmen fighting alongside the regime.

The Lebanese "Al-Mayadeen" network, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that Israeli aircraft attacked the area of Al-Suwayda in southern Syria and the city of Daraa last night, continuing attacks intended to protect the Druze in the country.

According to the report, the attacks targeted supply lines of armed Syrian factions aligned with the regime.