JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel will raise defence spending by 42 billion shekels ($12.5 billion) in 2025 and 2026, the finance and defence ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges.

IDF forces demolished the homes of three terrorists involved in fatal shooting attacks, as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens and combat terrorism.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

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.

Overnight, the IDF managed to return dozens of Israeli Druze who had crossed into Syria yesterday, according to the military. Still, several dozen Druze from Israel remain inside Syria, mostly in the Hader area, a Druze town just over the border from Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights.

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.