People walk in front of the Syrian army headquarters and the Ministry of Defense, heavily damaged in Damascus, after Israeli strikes on July 16, 2025. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP.)
No matter how close cars squeeze past each other at every intersection, with hoods nearly touching bumpers, Mazen*, a taxi driver, notices that “there’s no one on the streets” of Damascus this Thursday, July 17.“Many are afraid to leave their homes since yesterday,” he says. Early the previous afternoon, a double Israeli airstrike struck the Syrian Defense Ministry and the general staff headquarters, shaking the capital — an area mostly spared during 14 years of civil war.Ahmad, a member of the security forces who arrived from Idleb that morning and is now on guard duty, isn’t impressed. “For us, it’s nothing after all the bombardments we’ve been through,” he jokes.But Mazen struggles to watch what he calls a symbol of “the power of the State” being so severely damaged. “The humiliation is too much,” he whispers.The Israeli strikes also...
No matter how close cars squeeze past each other at every intersection, with hoods nearly touching bumpers, Mazen*, a taxi driver, notices that “there’s no one on the streets” of Damascus this Thursday, July 17.“Many are afraid to leave their homes since yesterday,” he says. Early the previous afternoon, a double Israeli airstrike struck the Syrian Defense Ministry and the general staff headquarters, shaking the capital — an area mostly spared during 14 years of civil war.Ahmad, a member of the security forces who arrived from Idleb that morning and is now on guard duty, isn’t impressed. “For us, it’s nothing after all the bombardments we’ve been through,” he jokes.But Mazen struggles to watch what he calls a symbol of “the power of the State” being so severely damaged. “The humiliation is too much,” he...
