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The Israeli army bombed the entrance gate of the Syrian army’s headquarters in Damascus and attacked Suwayda.
The attacks followed resumed fighting in Suwayda despite a ceasefire.
The Israeli military said it targeted the entrance of Syria’s main army headquarters in Damascus. Two Syrian security officials told news agency Reuters that the country’s defence ministry was also struck in the same Israeli assault.
In a statement, the Israeli military confirmed, “A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria.”
The airstrikes coincided with continued clashes in Sweida, a Druze-majority city in southern Syria, where a ceasefire between government forces and local Druze factions has broken down.
Read more: Who Are The Druze And Why Sweida Has Become Epicenter Of Syria’s Latest Unrest?
Israel says its operations are aimed at protecting the Druze community.
The Druze are a religious minority that emerged in the 10th century from Ismaili Shia Islam. Of the estimated one million Druze worldwide, more than half live in Syria. Significant populations are also found in Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights- a region Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981.
Earlier this week, Syrian forces were deployed to Sweida in an effort by the new Islamist-led government to assert control over areas previously held by local Druze fighters. The violence escalated on Sunday, when fierce fighting broke out between Druze groups and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes, leaving over 100 people dead. The two communities have a long-standing rivalry in the region. Syrian troops were sent to the area to restore order, according to government statements.
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