DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on Damascus, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting all Syrians, especially the Druze community.
"Our people waged a revolution for freedom and emerged victorious through great sacrifice. They remain ready to fight for their honor whenever threatened," al-Sharaa said in a nationally televised address.
Turning to Israel, al-Sharaa accused the "Israeli entity" of consistently targeting Syrian stability and seeking to incite internal conflict since the fall of the former Syrian government. He charged that Israel aims to turn Syria into a permanent battlefield, weaken its national cohesion, and obstruct its reconstruction process.
"Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, and we won't allow external ambitions to be realized at the expense of our children and our future," he added.
Specifically addressing Syria's Druze community, al-Sharaa reaffirmed its place as an integral part of the nation.
"Protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority," he said. "We reject any effort to drag you into foreign agendas or sow internal division."
Israel on Wednesday carried out several waves of strikes in Damascus and Sweida, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, with the stated aim of preventing the Druze minority from being harmed. ■
