Israel launched airstrikes into Damascus on Wednesday, targeting multiple government sites, including the Syrian Ministry of Defense headquarters and an area near the Presidential Palace. Four separate explosions were reported in the capital.

The attacks came as tensions escalated in southern Syria, where Sunni Bedouins and the Druze religious minority clashed for several days in the city of Sweida. Despite a ceasefire announced Wednesday by the Syrian Interior Ministry and Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the strikes took place the same day. A prior ceasefire collapsed Tuesday after Syrian military forces entered the city in an attempt to restore control.

Israeli airstrikes also hit Syrian government forces in Sweida, killing five soldiers, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Syrian state media SANA reported that three civilians were killed and at least 34 injured in the airstrikes.

Israel has long positioned itself as a protector of the Druze community in Syria. However, some analysts suggest additional motives, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have publicly criticized Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in recent months. Since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out multiple strikes across Syria.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to the strikes in a post on X, writing, “Now painful blows will come,” alongside a video of a Syrian journalist taking cover as bombs exploded behind her.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes and urged the international community to intervene.

“We call on the international community to condemn Israel’s crimes and to take urgent, concrete measures to put an end to Israel’s repeated acts of aggression against the territory of a sovereign state and member of the United Nations,” the ministry said in a statement.

The SOHR said more than 360 people, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed since the violence began in Sweida. Several regional governments, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, condemned the Israeli airstrikes.

Khalid Alsadek contributed to the reporting of this story