Israel strikes Syrian military headquarters as fallout from sectarian violence in Suwayda reaches Damascus.
Published On 16 Jul 202516 Jul 2025
Israel has struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defence and close to the presidential palace in the capital Damascus, dramatically escalating on another military front in the region, and following through on its threats to intervene over clashes between government troops and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda.
Syria’s Interior Ministry announced a ceasefire agreement for Suwayda later on Wednesday. Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou confirmed a truce would take effect immediately. Jarbou said the agreement was “to completely halt all military operations in Suwayda by all parties” and “to fully integrate Suwayda into the Syrian state.”
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Footage showed four explosions from Israeli strikes battering the sides of the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus earlier on Wednesday, leading to large plumes of smoke rising in the sky, before another air strike hit close to the presidential palace.
Israel claims it has been carrying out the strikes in Syria to protect Syria’s Druze minority, which Israel views as a potential ally and which has been involved in clashes with Syrian government troops in Suwayda, a Druze stronghold. The community there has not welcomed Israeli intervention in the past.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported that at least three people were killed, and 34 others were wounded in the strikes, citing the Ministry of Health.
