A reporter and camera operator in Damascus ran for cover on Wednesday after Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian Defense Ministry in the heart of nation's capital as the pair were beginning a live transmission.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights is a priority, as he announced that local leaders will take control of security in the city of Suwayda in a bid to end sectarian violence in the south and in the wake of deadly Israeli strikes in Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

The dayslong fighting has threatened to unravel Syria’s postwar political transition and brought in further military intervention by Israel.

A series of airstrikes has hit the Syrian capital Damascus, with Syrian state media blaming Israel. One video from a Syrian television channel shows the Ministry of Defense building being hit live on air, forcing the anchor to take cover. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz shared the footage, saying “the painful blows have begun.”

Syria completely reopened its airspace on June 24, its civil air authority said. Damascus Airport's two runways were damaged during the civil war but have since been repaired. The airport was also looted during the chaos of Assad's fall.

Open-source intelligence analysts reported that a mass mobilization was declared in all of Syria's governorates despite the ceasefire.