• Rubio describes the situation as ‘misunderstanding’
• Turkiye calls Israeli attack ‘act of sabotage’
• US wants all sides to step back
• Official source claims ceasefire agreed

SWEIDA: Israel bombed Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday blowing up part of the defence ministry and hitting near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria.

The attacks marked a significant Israeli escalation against the administration of interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and came despite his warming ties with the United States and his administration’s evolving security contacts with Israel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as “complicated” but said it looked like a “misunderstanding”. He said he thought progress towards de-escalation would be made soon.

Hours later, an unidentified Syria’s interior ministry source said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA that a new ceasefire was reached in Sweida on Wednesday. “An agreement was reached for a ceasefire in Sweida and the deployment of security checkpoints in the city,” the source said.

Reporters heard warplanes swoop low over the capital and unleash a series of massive strikes mid-afternoon. Columns of smoke rose from the area near the defence ministry. A section of the building was destroyed, the ground strewn with rubble.

A Syrian medical source said the strikes on the defence ministry killed five members of the security forces.

An Israeli military official said the Israeli army struck the entrance to the military headquarters in Damascus and a military target near the presidential palace. The Israeli official said Syrian forces were not acting to prevent attacks on Druze and were part of the problem.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military would “continue to operate vigorously in Sweida to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until they withdraw completely”.

The Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham-led regime in Syria has had strained relations with the country’s patchwork of religious and ethnic minorities since toppling of Syria’s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called on Damascus to “leave the Druze in Sweida alone”. “As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on,” he said in a statement.

US asks all sides to step back

The United States’ special envoy for Syria on Wednesday called on all parties to step back and engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire in Syria.

“We unequivocally condemn violence against civilians in Sweida... All parties must step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire,” Tom Barrack said on X, adding that “perpetrators need to be held accountable”.

Turkiye terms attack ‘act of sabotage’

Turkiye on Wednesday condemned Israel’s strikes on Syrian army headquarters in Damascus, saying they sought to undermine stability in the war-torn country.

“Israel’s attacks on Damascus, following its military interventions in the south of Syria, constitute an act of sabotage against Syria’s efforts to secure peace, stability, and security,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Fighting claims 300 lives

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people have been killed since fighting erupted on Sunday between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes. The Britain-based watchdog said 28 civilians were among 92 Druze killed, 21 of them “in summary executions by government forces”.

At least 138 Syrian security personnel were killed, along with 18 allied Bedouin fighters, it added.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2025