Israel steps up attacks on Syria, bombs army HQ in Damascus

Reports say that missiles fired from an Israeli drone also struck the area close to the presidential palace in Damascus on Wednesday.

According to an Al Jazeera correspondent, there were two drone attacks on the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense, one at the entrance and the other at the backside of the building.

Israeli minister in charge of military affairs, Israel Katz, has confirmed the attacks, with Israeli media reports calling them a message to Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.

The strikes came hours after Katz threatened Syria to withdraw its troops from the city of Suwayda, where clashes between regime forces and Druze fighters are ongoing.

Israel claims to be intervening to help Syria’s Druze minority, whom Tel Aviv views as a potential ally in the crisis-hit Arab country. “We will not leave the Syrian Druze alone and will implement the disarmament policy,” Katz was quoted as saying.

Israeli sources say the army has deployed two more battalions to the border between the occupied territories and Syria.

Fierce fighting resumed in Suwayda earlier on Wednesday, despite the announcement of a ceasefire by the Jolani regime the previous night, with Defense Ministry officials blaming “outlawed groups” for breaking the ceasefire.

The ministry also told Al Jazeera that it had opened safe corridors in the city for civilians to flee from the violence, which has so far claimed 70 lives and injured over 200 people.

Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, clashes have occurred regularly between the Syrian Druze and forces affiliated with Jolani, whose militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led an offensive in December 2024 that overthrew the Assad government.

The Israeli regime is trying to partition Syria by repeatedly attacking its military capabilities and supporting ethnic minorities in the country.