Wed Jul 16 14:09:51 UTC 2025: **Israeli Airstrikes Hit Damascus; TV Anchor Flees Live Broadcast**
**Damascus, Syria** – A wave of Israeli airstrikes targeted central Damascus for the third consecutive day, with one strike hitting a state television building during a live broadcast. Footage circulating online shows a Syrian TV anchor abruptly leaving the set as the building appeared to be struck.
The strikes coincide with escalating clashes in Suweida, southern Syria, between the minority Druze community and other armed groups. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes and stated that Israel will continue to operate forcefully in Suweida, vowing “painful blows” against the Syrian regime. He also addressed the Druze community in Israel, pledging that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would protect the community in Syria.
“The warnings in Damascus have ended – now painful blows will come,” Katz stated on social media, sharing the video of the disrupted broadcast.
According to reports, earlier today, the Syrian Ministry of Defence building in Damascus was also targeted. An Israeli statement confirmed the military struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus.
The strikes occurred as a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups in Suweida collapsed. Katz warned on Wednesday that Israel would continue to attack regime forces until they withdrew from the area, threatening to “raise the bar of responses” if the message was not understood.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Tuesday night that Israel has a commitment to preserving southwestern Syria as a demilitarized zone on its border and safeguarding the Druze population.
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