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.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck "the entrance" of Syria's military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.

Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as "complicated" but said it looked like a "misunderstanding".

The State Department condemned recent Israeli strikes in Syria, and Secretary Marco Rubio announced a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Syria to end immediate violence.

Israel launched rare airstrikes deep into Damascus on Wednesday, targeting Syria’s military headquarters and a site near the presidential palace. Israeli officials said the strikes were aimed at protecting Syria's Druze minority amid escalating violence in southern Syria.

Thomas Barrack, United States Special Envoy for Syria, announced on Friday that Israel and Syria agreed to a ceasefire seeking to resolve tensions between the two countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized earlier this week rounds of heavy airstrikes against Syrian government targets and aimed to support Druze rebels,