The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

Israel’s demand for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria and its promise to protect the Druze minority are putting it in deepening conflict with the new regime in Damascus.

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and an area near the presidential palace.

The Israeli military launched airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters.

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

President al-Sharaa says ‘Israeli entity has consistently targeted our stability, sowed discord since fall’ of al-Assad.