"Israeli intervention reignited tensions in the city, with fighting there a dangerous turning point," President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated, highlighting the escalating violence resulting from external military involvement.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, which it said targeted Syrian regime forces involved in suppressing Druze communities in Sweida, a region that has seen days of bloody fighting between Druze militants and Bedouin tribes.
"It's obviously profound and moving for me, but also somewhat uncomfortable. I wish the value given to those images was given to the lives of the people I photographed, but the world doesn't work that way."
"The findings from this mission are clear. Syrian heritage has suffered extensive damage from 14 years of war, as well as from the 2023 earthquake and the country's economic and social crises."
The executive order is meant to "end the country's isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbours in the region, as well as from the United States," said Brad Smith, US Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
"There is no justification religious, moral, or rational for the slaughter of innocents, least of all in a sacred space. Such violence under the guise of faith is a grave perversion of all that is holy."