The Israeli army said Wednesday that it struck the entrance to the Syrian military’s headquarters in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Reuters news agency reported, citing security sources, that at least two drone strikes hit the Syrian Defense Ministry building.
The reported attack comes after Israel vowed to step up its strikes in Syria unless the government pulls its forces from southern areas where there were recent deadly clashes between Druze and Bedouin tribes.
“The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors events amid the recent conflicts in Syria, said two people were injured in two successive airstrikes near the General Staff Headquarters.
Third day of Israeli strikes
Israel has now struck Syria for a third day in a row, saying its attacks aim to protect the Druze minority after Syrian government troop dispatched to quell fighting between Druze and Bedouin fighters ended up clashing with the Druze militias themselves.
Syria’s state media and witnesses said there had also been Israeli strikes throughout on Wednesday on the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where fighting continues after the collapse of a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called in February for southern Syria to be completely demilitarized and warned that Israel would not tolerate the presence of Syrian government forces near territory it controls.
