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Israel has been secretly arming and financing Druze militia groups in Syria while using the YPG-led SDF as an intermediary to funnel weapons, cash, and training to undermine the authority of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to a Washington Post (WP) investigation.
The SDF is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK.
Beginning nine days after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad on December 17, 2024, Israeli helicopters began arriving in southern Syria under the cover of darkness.
Packed alongside pallets of humanitarian aid were 500 rifles, ammunition, and body armor—all discreetly airdropped by Israel to arm a Druze militia called the "Military Council," according to two former Israeli officials directly involved in the effort speaking to the WP.
"An increasingly dominant force in the Middle East, Israel has been seeking to shape developments in Syria by supporting allied Druze militiamen as part of an effort to weaken the country's national cohesion, thus complicating Sharaa's efforts to unify the country after its long civil war," the Washington Post's investigation found.
The covert Israeli supplies were part of a long-running effort to prop up the Druze—a religious minority that has traditionally played a role in the politics of several Middle Eastern countries.
The flow of weapons peaked in April following clashes. The weapons flow ebbed in August after Israel pivoted to negotiating with Sharaa, and doubts emerged among Israeli officials about the reliability of the Syrian Druze separatists.
"But Israel continues to carry out airdrops of nonlethal military equipment such as body armor and medical supplies to Syrian Druze fighters, effectively undermining Sharaa's ability to centralize power," the investigation stated.
Israel is providing monthly payments between $100 to $200 to approximately 3,000 Druze militiamen, two Druze officials said, demonstrating that Israel continues to maintain a counterweight to the central Syrian government.
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Druze members of the Israeli security establishment funneled $24,000 via the SDF to help Tareq al-Shoufi, a former colonel in Assad's army and so-called leader of the Military Council, renovate an old building as a command center and buy uniforms and basic equipment, said one former Israeli official.
"Around the same time, up to half a million dollars was separately sent by the SDF to the Military Council," said the former Israeli official and two Druze commanders in Syria.
"To help the Druze cause, the SDF also trained Syrian Druze, including women, in SDF-held areas in northern Syria—a relationship that continues to this day, according to a senior SDF official, a Syrian Druze commander, and a former Israeli official," the investigation stated.
"The SDF provided some Druze leaders with anti-tank missiles and battlefield imagery from Israeli satellites," two Druze militia commanders in Sweida said.
"Israel responded by sending mostly used weapons that Israeli forces obtained from dead Hezbollah and Hamas fighters," said a former Israeli official, a Druze commander in Syria, and a financial middleman.
One Syrian Druze militia leader recalled receiving sniper rifles, night vision equipment, and ammunition for 14-millimeter and 23-millimeter heavy machine guns.
On the ground, Israeli troops established a buffer zone where they provided Druze residents of 20 villages with "wood, petrol, diesel, food, and a little bit of water," as well as medical treatment at an army clinic set up outside the Druze village of Khader, an Israeli military official said.
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