'No more space in the morgue': Israel prepares to send aid to damaged Sweida hospital

Israel's Health Ministry is preparing the transfer of medical equipment and medications to Sweida's hospital following the recent violent Syrian Druze-Bedouin clashes that have left hundreds dead.

Israel’s Health Ministry is preparing the transfer of medical equipment, medication, and general assistance to Sweida’s hospital, as reports of severe damage to its hospital come through, the ministry’s spokesperson’s office announced Saturday night.

The call for aid followedintense clashes between members of the Druze community and Syrian Bedouin tribes in the city of Sweida over the past week.

After receiving the urgent request for aid from the Syrian hospital on Friday, Health Minister Uriel Busso called on the ministry to mobilize a rapid response:

“Our brotherhood with the Druze community is strong and well known, but even more so, we are determined to strengthen this alliance, standing shoulder to shoulder in all areas of our lives. The instructions I gave to mobilize quickly to provide aid in light of the developments in Syria reflect Israel’s commitment to not stand idly by when members of the community, even outside of its borders, are in danger."

"There's no more space in the morgue, the bodies are out on the street," Dr. Omar Obeid, leader of the Sweida division at Syria's Order of Physicians, said, according to Ynet.

Following the request, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, director-general of the Health Ministry, met with Dulan Abu Salah, head of the Majdal Shams local council, doctors from the Druze community, and Prof. Salman Zarka, director of Safed’s Ziv Medical Center, to discuss the possibilities of aid transfer to Sweida.

“Providing medical aid to all of those wounded is an urgent call, and the mobilization for this means saving lives,” Zarka said.

The medical equipment and medications will be transferred to the hospital by security forces and the IDF, pending “approval from the relevant authorities.”

Eruption of the clashes, international response

Sectarian fighting erupted in Sweida last week after a wave of kidnappings, leading to clashes between local Bedouin tribes, Druze residents of Sweida, and security forces with ties to Damascus, which have left hundreds of people dead.

The Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, supported by Turkey, Jordan, and other neighboring countries, following Israeli strikes on Damascus and government forces in southern Syria.

Israel’s Druze community has organized protests across northern Israel in response to the violence, calling on the Israeli government and other international bodies to intervene. Additionally, a group of Israeli Druze managed to illegally cross into Syria late Friday night in solidarity with their Syrian brethren, and have since been returned to Israeli territory by the IDF.

"If you want to help Sweida, demonstrations at the border are not the way,” senior IDF officers told Druze community leaders, according to Army Radio. “The IDF is not meant to deal with Israeli lawbreakers; this distracts and diverts attention to the wrong places. We understand the community’s pain and want to help and bring in aid, but continuing in this way achieves the opposite effect.”