DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Residents reported calm in the Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to fighting.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes Wednesday on Syria’s Defense Ministry in Damascus, causing injuries in an escalating conflict with the new Syrian government, according to an Israeli military statement and Syrian state television.

Secretary of State Rubio says the U.S. is "very concerned" by expanding Israeli strikes targeting Syria's new government, and he wants "the fighting to stop."

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

Clan fighters gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday to support Bedouin militants in their clashes with Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida despite calls for a ceasefire.

Some Syrian military units are withdrawing from the southern city of Suwayda after days of deadly fighting. Secretary of State Rubio announced late Wednesday that all parties, including Israel, agreed to a ceasefire.

The challenge now is whether the two sides can de-escalate. Numerous Bedouin tribes from across Syria mobilized to fight in Sweida.

The Israeli military launched airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters.