The Israel Defense Forces said it struck "the entrance" of Syria's military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.

Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.

Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.