For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

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 said it took military action in support of Syria’s Druze population which has been involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces in recent days. The move sent US officials scrambling to prevent a larger escalation between the two Middle East nations.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

As Israel bombed Syria, a TV anchor ran off camera during a live broadcast as a state TV building in central Damascus got attacked by Israeli airstrikes.

Rubio said that steps must be taken by "all parties to deliver on commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do. " US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an agreement to end the fighting in Syria,