The Israeli strike came hours after a drone attack on the same building. Syrian state media reported that at least 13 people were wounded.

Another attack occurred near the presidential palace in the hills outside Damascus.

Israel said the attacks were part of a campaign aimed at defending the Druze minority — which also forms a substantial community in Israel — and driving Islamic militants away from its border.

As clashes raged for days in the southern Syrian city of Sweida between government forces and Druze armed groups, Israel launched dozens of attacks on troops and convoys of the government, which it says supports the minority religious group, and vowed to step up its involvement.

The escalating violence appears to be the most serious threat yet to the ability of Syria's new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups toppled longtime leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war.