One killed in Israel strike on Damascus building

Israel's military carried out an airstrike Thursday on a residential building on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus that it said was a command center of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The military alleged that the command center has been used to direct attacks against Israel and vowed to "respond forcefully" to the presence of Palestinian militant groups inside Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the building targeted is located in the suburb of Dummar, northwest of the capital. It said one person was killed.

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in a statement that "whenever terrorist activity is organized against Israel," Syria’s new President Ahmad al-Sharaa "will find air force planes circling above him and attacking terrorist targets."

- Targeted building was home of 'militant group leader' -

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member at the scene of the airstrike in Syria told The Associated Press that the apartment that was targeted was the home of the group’s leader Ziad Nakhaleh.

Ismail Sindak said the apartment had been empty for years, adding that Nakhaleh is not in Syria. Asked whether anyone was killed in the strike, Sindak said "the house was empty."

It was not immediately clear where Nakhaleh is but he is believed to spend his time between Lebanon, Iran and Syria.

Syria’s state news agency said an Israeli airstrike has struck a residential building on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus.

The agency did not give further details about Thursday’s airstrike.