Damascus / Jerusalem –
Israel launched powerful airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of Syria’s Defense Ministry and hitting near the presidential palace, as it vowed to destroy government forces it said were attacking Druze communities in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw.
The attacks mark a significant Israeli escalation against the Islamist-led administration of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and came despite his warming ties with the United States and his administration’s evolving security contacts with Israel.
Reporters heard warplanes swoop low over the capital and unleash a series of massive strikes midafternoon. Columns of smoke rose from the area near the Defense Ministry, and a section of the building was destroyed, the ground strewn with rubble. Witnesses said they heard an explosion in the area of the palace, a high-security compound located on a hill overlooking the capital where interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives visitors.
Israel strikes Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus seeking withdrawal from south
