Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to reports of atrocities against local Druze residents.

The Israeli shelling of the Holy Family Church in Gaza has drawn U.S. criticism while Pope Leo XIV spoke Sunday of his "deep sorrow" and called for an end to the "barbarity of war."

Israel has threatened to increase its involvement in Syria and vowed to protect the Druze religious minority, which began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam, the Associated Press reported. Most of the world’s Druze population lives in Syria, with the rest predominantly in Israel and Lebanon.

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.

Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck "the entrance" of Syria's military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.

In a landmark ruling, a Brussels Court today ordered the government of the Flemish region in Belgium to block a specific container carrying dual-use items to Israel and also to halt all further transit of military material to Israel for its ongoing genocide against 2.