Live: 54 Palestinians killed, 831 wounded in 24 hours

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Israeli attacks on Damascus and Sweida come as part of “a systematic Israeli policy to ignite tension and chaos and undermine security in Syria”.

“The attack is part of the Israeli aggression [and] represents a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law,” a ministry statement said.

At least three were killed and 34 wounded in the air strikes.

Syria said it holds Israel responsible for the escalation and reserves its “right to defend our land and people through international law”.

It called on the international community and the UN Security Council to take “urgent action” against repeated Israeli aggression.

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday the Israeli air strikes.  "The Secretary-General further condemns Israel's escalatory airstrikes on Suweida, Daraa and in the center of Damascus, as well as reports of the IDF's redeployment of forces in the Golan," Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan launched on Wednesday a comprehensive diplomatic initiative, reaching out to regional counterparts to coordinate a unified response to Israel’s attacks on government buildings in Damascus.

Fidan spoke with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, conveying Ankara’s deep concerns over the Israeli strikes.

Minister Fidan also held a call with the US Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, stressing that both the Israeli attacks in Syria and the ongoing violence in Sweida must be brought to an immediate halt.

He also conducted discussions with his Jordanian and Saudi counterparts.

According to sources from the Turkish foreign ministry, Fidan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud agreed that the attacks on Syria undermine efforts to restore stability in the country, emphasising that these aggressive actions must end without delay.

In recent years, Turkey has improved its relations with Riyadh, and they are increasingly standing together behind Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government. 

Israel has claimed the attacks were in retaliation for recent fighting between government forces and local groups in the Druze-majority city of Sweida.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party has quit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition over a long-running dispute over mandatory military service.

The move will leave Netanyahu without a majority, although Shas vowed not to undermine the coalition.

The death toll of people killed in Israel's attacks on Damascus has risen to at least three people, with another 34 wounded.

Another Syrian Druze leader, Hikmat al-Hijiri, has rejected a ceasefire deal with the Syrian government, affirming "the continuation of the fight until the entire territory of As-Suwayda Governorate is liberated".

“There is no agreement, negotiation, or mandate with the Syrian government," he said in a statement.

The United States is "very worried" about the violence in southern Syria, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is a direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria. We have been and remain in repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel on this matter," Rubio said.

Reporting by Reuters

The number of people injured in Israel's attacks on the Syrian capital has risen to 28, with one person reported killed, according to Syria's health ministry.

Syria's interior ministry has released details of the ceasefire deal in Sweida, carried by Syria's state media agency Sana.

The truce will involve an immediate cessation of all military operations and a commitment by all parties to de-escalate the situation in Sweida.

The implementation of the ceasefire will be overseen by a committee made up of state representatives and religious leaders.

Security and police checkpoints will be deployed throughout the city, in collaboration with Sweida police forces.

Officers and personnel from Sweida will assume leadership and executive duties.

Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou has confirmed that a ceasefire agreement has been reached with the Syrian government in Sweida, adding that it will take immediate effect.

Far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has called for Israel to “eliminate” Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“The shocking images from Syria prove one thing: once a jihadist, always a jihadist,” Ben Gvir said in a video statement on Wednesday.

“Anyone who murders, shaves mustaches, humiliates, and rapes cannot be negotiated with, and the only thing that can be done is to eliminate al-Julani,” he added, referring to Sharaa's previous nom de guerre, Mohammad al-Jolani. 

“I love the Druze citizens in the State of Israel, and I embrace them warmly, and I tell them: we must cut off the head of the snake."

Syria's interior ministry has said a new ceasefire was reached Wednesday in Sweida, after an earlier truce collapsed amid days of clashes between members of the Druze minority and Syrian government forces.

"An agreement was reached for a ceasefire in Sweida and the deployment of security checkpoints in the city," an unidentified interior ministry source said in a statement carried by state news agency Sana.

According to the interior ministry, the deal will involve the deployment of government forces in the city who will set up checkpoints, with the area becoming fully integrated into the Syrian state. The deal was reportedly struck with Druze groups who are prepared to work with the state.

The truce comes following days of clashes in Sweida which erupted on Sunday between members of the Druze minority and Syrian government forces. According to the war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 300 people were killed in the clashes, including 40 civilians, 27 of them in “summary executions… by members of the defense and interior ministries".

On Wednesday, Israel launched a series of strikes on Sweida and Damascus, where it targeted government buildings and killed at least one person and injured another 18.

The Syrian state news agency Sana reports, citing the country's health ministry, that one person has been killed and 18 others injured in Israeli attacks on Damascus.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has confirmed its attack on the Syrian army headquarters and a 'military target' near the presidential palace in the capital.

It said in a statement on Telegram that it "continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria", adding that "In accordance with directives from the political echelon", it is "conducting strikes in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios".

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has issued a statement condemning Israel's attacks on Syria's defence ministry and presidential palace in Damascus as a "flagrant violation" of the country's sovereignty.

Secretary General of the GCC, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said that the attacks constituted a "breach of international laws and norms, and a serious threat to regional security and stability".

Albudaiwi added that Israel's continuation of the attacks is an “irresponsible escalation” which flies in the face of international efforts to stablise the situation in Syria.

He further reiterated the GCC's support for the Syria's sovereignty.

Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has issued an order to "increase the rate of strikes and stop attacks against the Druze in Syria", as well as the bolstering of the Syrian border area with reinforcements and additional surveillance.

According to a statement issued by the military, the additional forces will join the 210th "Bashan" Division along the border.

The statement said that the army "is committed to the deep alliance with our Druze brothers and is therefore striking targets across Syria in order to protect them in the Sweida region, Jabal al-Druze, and wherever necessary".

It added that “crossing the fence into Syria without control endangers the Druze and our forces, and must be stopped immediately", as hundreds of Israeli Druze are reported to have entered Syria on Wednesday.

Ten children a day are losing one or both limbs in Gaza due to Israel's assault on the Palestinian enclave, a report warned on Tuesday.

According to an update by the UN-sponsored Global Protection Cluster, Israeli attacks on Gaza have "destroyed the protection environment" of the disabled and newly disabled in the enclave.

The report said 134,105 people including over 40,500 children have suffered new war-related injuries since the war began in October 2023.

Twenty-five percent are estimated to have new disabilities requiring acute and ongoing rehabilitation. 

"There is no safe space in Gaza. Twenty months of intense hostilities have destroyed the protection environment for persons with disabilities and older persons," it said.

Read more: Ten children a day losing a limb in Gaza, warns UN-backed body