DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JULY 16: Smoke rises from the Syrian army’s General Staff Complex after Israeli warplanes carried out multiple airstrikes in Damascus, Syria on July 16, 2025. The building was targeted three times throughout the day, with visible flames and heavy smoke following the attacks. At least two people were injured in the Israeli airstrike. Esref Musa / Anadolu/ABACAPRESS.COM,Image: 1022531881, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

DAMASCUS, July 16, 2025 -- Smoke is seen near the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025. Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian presidential palace area and destroyed parts of the Syrian Army General Command headquarters in the capital Damascus on Wednesday, according to local media and eyewitnesses. The strikes were reportedly aiming against Syria's interim authorities for the clashes with the Druze community in Sweida province in southern Syria.,Image: 1022528022, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Monsef Memari / Xinhua News / Profimedia

Syrian security forces take position amid ongoing clashes in the southern city of Sweida on July 16, 2025. Damascus deployed troops in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida, after clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes killed scores of people, with Syria's defence minister declaring a ceasefire on July 15 in Sweida city, which government forces entered in the morning.,Image: 1022496174, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Bakr ALKASEM / AFP / Profimedia