THE Israeli military launched air attacks in the heart of Damascus today, hitting the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters as clashes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida continued to flare.

Israel’s attack came hours after a drone strike on the same building. 

Syrian state media reported a “number of casualties” without giving further details.

As clashes have raged for days in the southern Syrian city of Sweida between government forces and Druze armed groups, Israel has launched a series of strikes targeting government troops and convoys, saying it supports the religious minority group, and has vowed to escalate its involvement. It has also beefed up its forces along its border with Syria.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said after the air strike that the “painful blows have begun.”

Syria’s Defence Ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached on Tuesday, causing Syrian soldiers to return fire.

It said they were “adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes.”

Meanwhile, reports of attacks on civilians continued to surface, and Druze with family members in the conflict zone searched desperately for information about their fate amid communication blackouts.

A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, in December. Since then, the country’s new rulers have struggled to consolidate control.

The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province.

Government forces that intervened to restore order then clashed with the Druze.

Israel has said it doesn’t want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of attacks on Syria.