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.

That understanding was based on comments from the U.S. special envoy and security talks with Israel, sources said.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that Israel’s recent strikes on Damascus signal a wider agenda of destabilization, disarmament, and division across the Islamic world.

Damascus believed it had a green light from both the US and ‘Israel’ to dispatch its forces south “despite months of Israeli warnings not to do so,” according to the sources, which include Syrian political and military officials, two diplomats, and regional security sources.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as "complicated" but said it looked like a "misunderstanding".

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

Republican congressman and Israel caucus co-chair Joe Wilson rebukes Israeli military strikes on Syria, calling them insulting to Trump's recent diplomatic efforts in the region.

Israel’s demand for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria and its promise to protect the Druze minority are putting it in deepening conflict with the new regime in Damascus.