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In 2nd round of strikes, Israel hits Syrian defence ministry in Damascus over violence against Druze

After issuing warnings to Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa over the violence against minority Druze community, Israel has launched the second round of airstrikes in Damascus and struck the defence ministry near the presidential palace. read more Smoke rises after strikes on Syria's defense ministry in Damascus, according to Al Jazeera TV, in Damascus, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi In the second round of airstrikes in Syrian capital Damascus, Israel hit the defence ministry on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Israel had struck the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus in what it dubbed a message to Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to stop the violence against the minority Druze community in the southern Sweida province. In recent days, pro-regime fighters backed by Syrian military have killed dozens from the Druze community, a distinct religious group spread across southern Syria, northern Israel, and Lebanon in West Asia. This is the latest round of violence against minorities in Sharaa's Syria. Previously, pro-regime groups had massacred more than 1,000 Shia Alawites in western Syria. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Visuals of the Israeli strikes on the defence ministry near the presidential palace in Damascus surfaced on X. Firstpost could not immediately verify the visuals. Earlier in the day, the Israeli military shared aerial footage of the strike on the Syrian army headquarters and said, 'From the General Staff compound in Damascus, Syrian regime commanders manage the fighting and dispatch regime forces to the As-Suwayda area. In addition, a military target was struck in the area of the Syrian regime's Presidential Palace in the Damascus area.' At least 248 people, including at least 92 Druze community members, have been killed in clashes in southern Sweida province in recent weeks, with the Syrian military itself killing at least 21 community members, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). While Sharaa has claimed that the Syrian military has been deployed in the province and its capital with the same name to contain violence, the SOHR, witnesses, and Druze community members told AFP that the military joined Sunni groups in attacking Druze people. צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף מטרות צבאיות של המשטר הסורי בדמשק צה״ל תקף לפני זמן קצר את קריית המטה הכללי של המשטר הסורי במרחב דמשק שבסוריה. מקריית המטה הכללי בדמשק מפקדי המשטר הסורי מנהלים את הלחימה ושולחים את כוחות המשטר למרחב א-סווידא׳. בנוסף, הותקפה מטרה צבאית במרחב ארמון הנשיאות של… — צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So far, Israel has conducted 160 strikes inside Syria to deter pro-regime fighters and the military from continuing the violence against the Druze people. Previously, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told Al-Sharaa 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,' Katz further said.