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.

Tensions between Israel and Syria have reached a boiling point. The Syrian Army has reportedly withdrawn from the key Druze city of Sweida following relentless Israeli airstrikes. Damascus lies in ruins as Israeli forces target key Syrian military installations,

Two people were killed Thursday and a priest was among several people injured, four of them seriously, in what appeared to be an Israeli attack on Gaza's only Catholic church.

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa credited U.S., Arab, and Turkish mediation—led by President Donald Trump—for halting a full-scale war between Syria and Israel following intense Israeli airstrikes on Damascus.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.