Israel’s Netanyahu said the strike was a warning to the Syrian government not to deploy troops to the south and to prevent violence against the Druze minority.

Syria's Islamist rulers on Friday denounced an air strike near the presidential palace as a "dangerous escalation", as Israel called it a "clear message" not to harm the Druze minority.The dawn strike came hours after senior Druze clerics and armed factions reaffirmed their loyalty to Damascus and rejected any call for secession.

Israel says its fighter jets bombed an area next to the presidential palace in Syria's capital, Damascus, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to protect the Druze religious minority following days of deadly sectarian violence.