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

P LUMES OF SMOKE rose over Damascus on July 16th as Israeli warplanes struck Syria’s capital. Targeting the presidential palace, the defence ministry and the army command, the attack killed at least one person and wounded several others.

On Sunday, clashes began between the Druze minority and the Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Syria. Till now, hundreds have died in the clashes.

Following the Israeli strikes on Damascus, Syrian officials and Druze leaders announced a ceasefire that included the withdrawal of Syrian forces from the southern region of Sweida. The United States, which recently lifted sanctions on Syria, said it had worked to broker the ceasefire.

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

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.