Netanyahu claims he called Syria’s al-Sharaa after Damascus strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed he personally called Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa following Israeli airstrikes on Damascus in July 2025, saying the conversation helped stop the killing of Druze civilians.
Speaking during a visit to the predominantly Druze town of Yarka in northern Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu described the exchange as brief but decisive.
“I picked up the phone and called al-Sharaa. It was a very short, very sharp conversation, and the massacre stopped,” he said. Netanyahu also pledged to continue protecting Syria’s Druze minority and supporting the return of displaced residents to their homes.
The Israeli strikes followed deadly sectarian clashes in Syria’s Suwayda province, where government forces were accused of attacking civilians. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians.
Israel maintained that its military intervention was intended to protect the Druze community, which has close religious and family ties with Druze citizens in Israel.
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Netanyahu’s claim marks the first publicly reported direct conversation between the two leaders, despite Israel and Syria having no formal diplomatic relations. Syrian authorities have not commented on the alleged call.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
