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An array of armed supporters responded to the call, including foreign jihadist fighters, civilians and armed units now nominally part of the new Syrian army, but still not fully under government control.

Turkish-backed militia and jihadist fighters who once fought alongside HTS to remove Bashar al-Assad are among those named by witnesses and human rights groups as carrying out summary executions.

Israel views Syria’s fledgling government as a jihadist threat on its borders that it must counter, both to protect itself and its neighbor’s Druze minority.

Though Druze celebrated the fall of Assad in December, they have kept the rebel coalition that overthrew him and is now in charge at arm’s length; the coalition includes jihadist groups that once had ties to Al Qaeda.

Government forces and thousands of fighters — including from Sunni jihadist factions — beat back the loyalists but also hunted down Alawites, who share Assad’s religion and were seen by many Syrians as complicit in his policies.