Countries in the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the Israeli airstrikes targeting the Syrian Army General Command headquarters and the presidential palace area in central Damascus. Israel said the strikes were aimed at protecting the Druze minority in Syria following deadly clashes in the southern province of Sweida. The Arab League denounced the attacks as "blatant assault" on the sovereignty of an Arab state that is a member of both the Arab League and the United Nations. It also accused Israel of seeking to sow chaos in Syria by exploiting recent events in Sweida province. Egypt said these repeated Israeli violations only serve to deepen tensions and represent a fundamental source of instability in Lebanon, Syria, and the broader region. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry affirmed its absolute rejection of endangering the lives of Syrian civilians and exacerbating their humanitarian suffering. It stressed the need to de-escalate the situation, as it poses a direct threat to the security and stability of the region. The Israeli strikes were initially limited to Sweida province before extending to the capital. Israeli authorities said the attacks on Syrian forces and weapons aimed to "prevent the Syrian regime from harming" the Druze community, due to "the deep fraternal alliance with the Druze citizens of Israel and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria." The escalation in Sweida began on Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias. Since Sunday morning, the death toll from armed clashes, summary executions, and Israeli airstrikes in Syria's Sweida province has risen to 302, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Shotlist: Damascus, Syria - July 16, 2025: 1. Various of smoke rising after Israeli airstrikes; traffic; FILE: Damascus, Syria - April 8, 2024 2. Various of Syrian foreign ministry building; national flag of Syria; FILE: Tel Aviv, Israel - June 2021 3. National flag of Israel; FILE: Sderot, Israel - May 16, 2021 4. Various of street view, national flags of Israel; FILE: Tel Aviv, Israel - April 7-8, 2019 5. Various of buildings, traffic; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - Date Unknown 6. Headquarters of Arab League, flags; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - July 24, 2022 7. Egyptian national flag; building; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - April 6, 2019 8. Egyptian national flag; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - 2017 9. Aerial shots of cityscape, traffic; FILE: Cairo, Egypt - Date Unknown 10. Various of traffic along river; FILE: Baghdad, Iraq - Feb 3, 2024 11. National flag of Iraq; 12. Traffic; FILE: Baghdad, Iraq - Dec 8, 2023 13. Various of Liberation Square, traffic, pedestrians. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV]