Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

Israel will raise defence spending by 42 billion shekels ($12.5 billion) in 2025 and 2026, the finance and defence ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges.

Despite reports indicating the strike was carried out by Israel, Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military had not conducted the strikes. Israel carried out an airstrike in the vicinity of Syria's Sweida,

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to reports of atrocities against local Druze residents.

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country's post-war transition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition" hit Gaza's only Catholic Church, killing three people sheltering there. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful," he said in a statement.