DAMASCUS: An Israeli airstrike hit next to the presidential palace in Syria’s capital Damascus on Wednesday, according to a Reuters witness, after the Syrian defence ministry and military headquarters were also attacked.
Earlier, Israeli strikes hit near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus, the state-run Alekhbariya channel reported on Telegram, after Israel’s military said it stepped up attacks on the authorities with the declared aim of protecting the Druze minority from harm by government forces.
AFP correspondents heard a loud explosion echoing throughout much of the capital, shortly after a first air strike had targeted the same building in the city centre.
It marked the third day in a row that Israel has struck Syria where government security forces have clashed with local Druze fighters in the southern city of Sweida.
Security sources from within the defence ministry told Reuters that at least two drone strikes had hit the building and that officers were taking cover in the basement. State-owned Alekhbariya TV said the Israeli strike wounded two civilians.
The Israeli military said it had “struck the entrance gate of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters complex” in Damascus and that it continued “to monitor developments and the actions being taken against Druze civilians in southern Syria”.
Massive airstrikes damaged the defence ministry in Damascus, live footage on Al Jazeera TV showed.
Syria’s state media and witnesses said Israeli strikes throughout Wednesday also struck the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where a fourth day of fighting swiftly collapsed a ceasefire announced the previous evening.
Syrian government troops were dispatched to the Sweida region on Monday to quell fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin armed men, but ended up clashing with the Druze militias themselves.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor with sources inside Syria, said 21 Druze civilians had been killed “in summary executions by government forces” and allied groups.
Local news outlet Sweida24 said the city of Sweida and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire early on Wednesday.
Syria’s defence ministry, in a statement carried by state news agency SANA, blamed outlaw groups in Sweida for breaching the truce.
The defence ministry called on residents of the city to stay indoors. Some residents that Reuters was able to reach by phone said they were holed up at home in fear, with no electricity.
The European Union said it was “alarmed” by the continued clashes in Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida, calling on all sides to implement a ceasefire and protect civilians.
A statement by the EU’s diplomatic arm also urged “all external actors” to “fully respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” after Israel carried out strikes in support of the Druze.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Druze not to try to enter Syria, after dozens crossed the armistice line in both directions following deadly fighting in the Druze heartland.
“Do not cross the border,” Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of a “very serious” situation in Sweida.
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Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when asked about Israeli strikes on Syria, said that the United States was concerned and added that he had just spoken to the relevant parties over the phone.
“We’re going to be working on that issue as we speak. I just got off the phone with the relevant parties.
“We’re very concerned about it, and hopefully we’ll have some updates later today. But we’re very concerned about it,” Rubio said, adding that the US wants the fighting to stop.
Similarly, US President Donald Trump’s administration asked Israel again to halt strikes on Syria and engage in dialogue with the government in Damascus, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported, citing a senior US official.
Neither Axios nor Ravid said whether that request came before or after Israeli strikes on Syria’s military headquarters and near the presidential palace in Damascus.
France called for an end to “abuses targeting civilians” in Syria’s Sweida, after a war monitor accused government forces of summary executions and other abuses.
“The abuses targeting civilians, which we strongly condemn, must stop,” the foreign ministry said, calling for an “immediate cessation of clashes” and urging all sides to respect a ceasefire.
“France supports the efforts of the Syrian transitional authorities and the leaders of the Sweida region to restore dialogue and hopes for a lasting agreement to strengthen the unity, stability, and sovereignty of Syria, as well as the safety of all Syrians,” Paris said.
Meanwhile, Turkiye condemned Israel’s strikes on Syrian army headquarters. “Israel’s attacks on Damascus, following its military interventions in the south of Syria, constitute an act of sabotage against Syria’s efforts to secure peace, stability, and security,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Germany criticised the airstrikes, urging Tel Aviv to refrain from actions that could destabilise the country, Anadolu reported.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said that Germany is closely following the situation in Syria, including recent unrest in Suwayda province and Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian forces. “We are calling on all sides to refrain from taking steps that could destabilise Syria,” he said.
“It’s clear that Syria must not become a plaything of foreign powers, that Syria’s sovereignty must be safeguarded,” he stressed.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also condemned the attacks on Damascus in the “strongest terms”, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said the air campaign represented a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s sovereignty, “a breach of international laws and norms, and a serious threat to regional security and stability”.
Albudaiwi reiterated the GCC’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity, adding that the continuation of the repeated Israeli attacks had constituted an “irresponsible escalation” and disregarded international efforts to achieve stability in Syria and the region.
He also called for international action to stop the “serious violations, hold the perpetrators accountable, and work diligently to protect the Syrian people and preserve its sovereignty in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law”.
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