Israel Launches Strikes on Syrian Military Headquarters in Damascus

The airstrikes come amid violence in and around the predominantly Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria.

Smoke rises after strikes on Syria's defense ministry in Damascus on July 16, 2025. Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Israel said on July 16 that it launched airstrikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus, damaging the country’s defense ministry near its presidential palace, amid fighting in southern Syria.

“The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X.