Israel regularly attacks what it perceives as military threats in neighboring countries, but Wednesday's bombings – against the heart of Syria's capital – are of a more rare kind.
The attacks were directed at the Syrian Ministry of Defense's headquarters in Damascus and at a "military target" near the presidential palace.
Photos show extensive damage to the Ministry of Defense building. Three people were killed and 34 injured in the attack, according to Syrian authorities.
Israel has simultaneously threatened to step up its attacks on Syrian forces if they do not withdraw from southern Syria.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemns "Israel's escalating air attacks" as well as reports of the movement of Israeli forces to the border areas with Syria.
The EU, in turn, urges Israel to "immediately cease attacks on Syrian territory".
"Talking to both sides"
The US, which is a close ally of Israel but has also begun to build ties with the Islamist-led Syrian regime that took over after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, describes the situation as a "misunderstanding" between Israel and Syria.
We have been in contact with both sides all day and we believe we are on our way to a real de-escalation, says Foreign Minister Marco Rubio at a press conference at the White House, and adds:
Hopefully, we can return to a situation where Syria can get help to rebuild the country and where we can achieve a much more stable situation in the Middle East.
At 10 pm Swedish time, Syria's Ministry of Defense announced that Syrian soldiers had begun to withdraw from the city of Sweida, reports AFP.
The origin of the situation is clashes that broke out on Sunday between Druze and Bedouins in the province of Sweida. After Syrian government forces were sent to the area to quell the violence, Israel began bombing their positions there.
Fighting between Druze and Syrian government forces broke out again in the city of Sweida on Wednesday morning, just hours after a ceasefire was declared.
Want to drive away the military
In total, over 300 people have been killed in the unrest since Sunday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
According to Syria's Ministry of Defense, "lawless groups" have attacked and government forces have responded to protect the inhabitants, writes the state-run Syrian Sana. The government forces have at the same time been accused of killing civilian Druze.
Israel presents its attacks as a defense of the Druze minority, which also exists in Israel – but also emphasizes that it sees the presence of Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria as a threat to Israel.
