For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

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 Israeli leader has been alienating his allies and is spiraling toward early elections.

President Ahmed al-Shara said the attack threatened to escalate sectarian violence in his sharpest criticism of Israel since coming to power.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee says Israel should "aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet" in the occupied West Bank.

The plots have largely preyed on economically vulnerable Israelis with relatively weak social ties. In one high-profile case, police arrested two young men in Tiberias on June 15, according to the Times of Israel. The two were each promised $60,000 to assassinate a top Israeli scientist.

Israeli warplanes pounded Syrian government buildings in Damascus, escalating its campaign against Syria's new authorities amid heavy clashes between government forces and the country's Druze minority.

At least 20 people were killed in a crowd crush at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial Israeli- and US-backed organization said Wednesday, the first time it has acknowledged deaths at one of its sites.