Israel Says It Hit Syria's Military HQ in Damascus on Day 3 of Strikes
Timothy Jones
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The Israeli army said Wednesday (July 16) that it struck the entrance to the Syrian military's headquarters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, with another larger attack on the same site being conducted just hours later, according to Syrian state television.
Reuters news agency reported, citing Syrian security sources, that at least two drone strikes hit the Syrian defence ministry building in the first attack.
The reported attacks come 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 [Israel Defence Forces] struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria," the 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 troops 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 Wednesday on the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where fighting continues after the collapse of a ceasefire.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz warned on X that "The warnings to Damascus have ended — now painful blows will come," saying that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed to protecting the Druze community in Syria.
Netanyahu called in February for southern Syria to be completely demilitarised and warned that Israel would not tolerate the presence of Syrian government forces near territory it controls.
As fighting continues in Sweida, members of the Druze community from Israel have been entering Syria to support Druze armed groups, while people from the Syrian Druze community, in their turn, have been trying to enter Israel.
Israeli soldiers have been firing teargas in an attempt to keep order on the heavily fortified frontier.
This article was originally published on DW.
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