Israel says it's trying to protect the Druze community in south-west Syria, where there have been deadly sectarian clashes.

Israeli warplanes pounded Syrian government buildings in Damascus, escalating its campaign against Syria’s new authorities amid heavy clashes between government forces and the country’s Druze minority.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

The fighting puts the U.S. in an awkward position, with President Donald Trump pursuing a path of normalization with the embattled Syria.