A picture shows a view of the damage following Israeli strikes on the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus. AFP
AFP correspondents said the strikes destroyed part of a four-storey building adjacent to the defence ministry, while the city's usually bustling Umayyad Square nearby was empty except for ambulances and military vehicles.
Israel's army said it struck a "military target" in the area of Syria's presidential palace in Damascus, after earlier announcing it had hit the military headquarters in the capital.
The Israeli military "continues to strike military targets belonging to the Syrian regime in Damascus", an army statement said.
Witnesses told AFP they heard an explosion in the area of the palace, a high-security compound which is located on a hill overlooking the capital and is where interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives visitors.
A 51-year-old Damascus resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation, said she was on her balcony trying to see the aftermath of the strikes near the army headquarters when she "heard an explosion and saw smoke rising near the presidential palace".
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