The capital city of Syria, Damascus is one of the great historic cities of the Middle East and is considered one of the oldest, if not the oldest, capital in the world with a history going back thousands of years.
It has a rich history, having been an important city to many empires throughout time, and countless ruling dynasties have called the city home.
At one point, Damascus was renowned as an important cultural and economic center in the Middle East and historic buildings dotted the city.
However, in recent years, the city has fallen into drastic decline and lost much of its historic splendor due to the Syrian Civil War and the conflict with ISIS.
Despite this, it still maintains an important role as the seat of power of the Syrian government.
The strikes come just days after alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted sites in Homs in central Syria.
Syrian state media said only material damage was caused by the airstrikes.
Syrian state media said a likely Israeli attack had targeted a building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, without giving further details.
Syrian media also claimed on Thursday evening that Israel had targeted sites in southern Syria and near Damascus with airstrikes in two separate waves.
Syrian air defenses were activated in the Damascus area during the strikes.
Three security sources and Iranian state media said an Israeli air strike outside Damascus on Monday killed Sayyed Razi Mousavi.
Iranian state-owned media confirmed the death of IRGC commander Seyed Razi Mousavi, identified as "a senior advisor" in Syria.
Ambulances reportedly rushed to the area shortly after the strikes.
Alleged Israeli airstrikes reportedly targeted several sites used by Iranian militias, including weapons storage and air defense sites.
Syria has been a conduit for Iranian weapons flowing to Hezbollah and Iran-backed proxies in Syria over the years.