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 HAGUE (Reuters) -Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday.

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.

The Israeli military launched airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it looked like a "misunderstanding" after Israel struck Syria's defense ministry.

Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria’s predominantly Druze region of Sweida as the country’s new Islamist regime struggled to implement a ceasefire after days of bloodshed. Shelling and firing were heard as Druze fighters reportedly pushed out Bedouin gunmen from Sweida city on Saturday.

A week after deadly clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, Syrian Red Crescent convoys drove on Sunday along the Damascus-Daraa highway to provide humanitarian assistance to citizens stranded in villages under attack.

The challenge now is whether the two sides can de-escalate. Numerous Bedouin tribes from across Syria mobilized to fight in Sweida.