Operation at site south of Damascus is deepest into Syrian territory since ousting of Bashar al-Assad last year

Israeli forces raided a former air defence base in southern Syria on Wednesday during a series of airstrikes in the area – their farthermost such operation inside Syria since Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December.

The site, near the city of al-Kiswah, about 6 miles (10km) south of Damascus, was a strategic base for Iranian militias during Assad’s rule.

Government urges all parties to commit to truce and says any breaches will be violation of sovereignty

• Escalating unrest lays bare new regime’s momentous challenges

Bedouin fighters and their allies have continued to clash with Druze fighters in the Syrian province of Sweida, despite an order by the government to put down their arms in a conflict that has killed more than 900 people since Sunday.

The Syrian presidency had earlier declared an “immediate and comprehensive” ceasefire and deployed its internal security forces in the southern province after almost a week of fighting in the predominantly Druze area.

Division between minority populations drag Syria further into cycle of violence and attracts Israeli opportunism

Seven months on from Bashar al-Assad’s fall, Syria is descending into yet another wave of bloody sectarian violence.

A local dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority sparked clashes that drew in Syrian government forces and triggered Israeli airstrikes – leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.