Syrian security forces gather at an empty road near the military headquarters in Damascus' Ummayad Square, after Israel said it hit the nearby military spot on July 16, 2025. AFP
"A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria," a statement read.
Syrian state television reported that two people were wounded in central Damascus, without giving the exact location.
Earlier, Syria state media said that the Israeli military struck the Druze-majority city of Sweida, where Syrian government forces have deployed to end days of deadly sectarian clashes in the city.
"Israeli occupation drones target the city of Sweida," state-run SANA said.
At least 248 people have been killed in southern Syria's Sweida province following several days of clashes that triggered the deployment of government forces, a war monitor said on Wednesday.
Sporadic fighting persisted despite the Syrian defence ministry announcing a ceasefire on Tuesday after government forces entered the Druze-majority city due to deadly clashes between local fighters and Bedouin tribes.
The toll includes 92 members of the Druze minority, 28 of them civilians with 21 "killed in summary executions by government forces", according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At least 138 Syrian security personnel were killed, along with 18 allied Bedouin fighters, the monitor said.
Clashes erupted on Sunday in the Druze-majority province of Sweida between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes following the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant which triggered tit-for-tat abductions, according to the Observatory.
Government forces announced their intervention in the province on Monday to break up the clashes and deployed to Sweida city on Tuesday.
However, according to the Observatory, witnesses and Druze factions, these forces intervened on the side of the Bedouins.
Israel, which had previously said it would protect the Druze in Syria, reiterated its warning to Damascus on Wednesday.
"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," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli military said it was working to stop people crossing from Syria.
"A short while ago, (Israeli) troops identified dozens of suspects attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from the area of Hader in Syria," a statement claimed , adding that soldiers and border police were "operating to prevent the infiltration".
Moreover, Israel's army said it was sending more troops to the armistice line between the occupied Golan Heights and Syrian-controlled territory.
"In accordance with the situational assessment, the (Israeli military) has decided to reinforce its forces in the area of the Syrian border," a statement said.
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