Hundreds of people have reportedly been massacred in Syria over the last three days in the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia by the forces from the jihadist government.
The AFP reported that more than 530 people had been confirmed killed, according to figures released by one monitor group on Saturday. Other estimates placed the number that had been killed lower, with the lowest number coming in at approximately 150.
#BREAKING 532 Alawites killed by Syrian security forces, allies: new monitor toll pic.twitter.com/nVkzEXR5jE
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 8, 2025
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz pinned the massacre on the country’s new leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, which was an offshoot of Al-Qaeda and was close to ISIS.
“Al-Julani took off his [robe], put on a suit, and presented a moderate facade,” Katz wrote in a post on X that included a video of scores of people who had been massacred. “Now, he has removed the mask, revealing his true face: a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population.”
“Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria,” he added. “We will remain in the security zones and Mount Hermon and protect the communities of the Golan and Galilee.”
Katz said that Israel would ensure that southern Syria remained demilitarized and that they will take military action against anyone who harms the local Druze population in the area.
Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said that the terrorist violence against the civilian population was “not just inevitable — it was a ticking time bomb.”
“The notion that the Syrian civil war ended with Assad’s fall was always an illusion — it has merely entered a new phase,” he said. “Iran still has ambitions in Syria and will do everything possible to keep the country in turmoil, ensuring an opportunity for their resurgence.”
