Why is Israel escalating its strikes against Syria?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 15 July 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Israel has targeted Syrian government forces in a wave of deadly airstrikes, at the same time as violence has gripped the southern province of Suwayda. In the spotlight is Syria’s Druze minority, also present in Israel. What does the fighting spell for Syria’s future?
In this episode:
- Osama Bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid), Al Jazeera correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Amy Walters and Tamara Khandaker with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Duha Mosaad, Melanie Marich, Marya Khan, Kisaa Zehra, and our guest host, Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Sarí el-Khalili and Kylene Kiang.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, Israel's launched hundreds of attacks inside Syria since Assad's fall. |
| 0:17.0 | The situation has been quite tense in the last couple of hours as the Israelis struck the Ministry of Defense in the Syrian capital, Damascus. |
| 0:25.1 | One Al Jazeera correspondent has been to southern Syria to find out what is happening there and reports on what we might see next. |
| 0:34.5 | I'm Manuel Rapalo, and this is The Take. |
| 0:48.5 | My name is Osama bin Javed, and I'm a correspondent for Al-Sair. |
| 0:52.0 | Asama, thank you so much for joining us again on The Take. |
| 0:54.5 | You have been spending a lot of time lately in southern Syria, near Israel. Before we jump in, can you explain where you are right now and |
| 1:00.9 | maybe bring us up to speed on what's been going on? |
| 1:03.7 | Right now, I am in Damascus. I have just arrived here after a six-hour road trip, and |
| 1:08.6 | what we're seeing behind me is the Damascus skyline and the sun is setting behind us after a six-hour road trip and what you're seeing behind me is the Damascus skyline and the |
| 1:12.1 | sun is setting behind us after a very long day and a very tragic day because the number |
| 1:17.8 | of deaths in southern Syria is going high. |
| 1:22.0 | Fighting in the early hours of Tuesday between Syrian government forces and armed groups |
| 1:26.1 | they call outlaws. |
| 1:32.1 | More than 30 people have been killed and over 100 wounded in the fighting over the past few days. |
| 1:37.8 | And there's a town specifically that's been in the headlines. |
| 1:39.7 | It's sort of central to this story right now. |
| 1:40.8 | It's the town of Swayda. |
| 1:45.0 | Can you tell us a little bit more about this place, its population, its history? |
| 1:46.0 | Well, Swayda is in southern Syria. |
| 1:50.0 | It is home to the largest number of the Druze community, a religious minority sector which calls Syria its home, |
... |
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