The Israel Defence Forces on Sunday stated that they had killed Bashar Thabet, a commander in Hamas' Development and Projects Department within its weapons production headquarters.

While strategic considerations were still in play, the heart of the decision lay in defending the extended family of Israel’s own Druze—a gesture shaped as much by kinship as by security. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria over the past decade,

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

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 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.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's military actions in Syria, accusing the country of being a "terrorist state" as well as a destabilizing force in the region.

People in Deir al-Balah are told to leave, as the IDF prepares to launch its first ground offensive in the city during its war against Hamas.