Israeli soldiers patrol an area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Wednesday that it launched strikes on Damascus and Sweida, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, with the stated aim of preventing the Druze minority from being harmed by the Syrian government. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected, and actions that could escalate the situation must be avoided. See story, page 10