US envoy says Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire after 'hundreds' killed in clashes

Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, a US envoy has said, after days of airstrikes amid mounting tensions.

Several hundred people have reportedly been killed this week in the south of Syria in violence involving local fighters, government authorities and Bedouin tribe. As the violence escalated in Sweida, Israel launched airstrikes, including attacks on Wednesday on the defence ministry in Damascus and a target near the presidential palace.

In a post on X, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, said Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and others. He wrote: "Israeli Prime Ministe @Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa @SyPresidency supported by the U.S.A. @SecRubio have agreed to a ceasefire embraced by Türkiye, Jordan and its neighbors. We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors."

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Clashes began Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Syria ’s southern Sweida province. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze.

The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that Syria n government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.

Airstrikes in Syria, struck targets near the presidential palace as well as the defence ministry headquarters in the heart of the capital Damascus. One of the strikes was captured live on Syrian television with a news reporter seemingly preparing for a new segment when a blast was seen at a building in the background. In a panicked moment, the news reporter seemed visible shaken and ducked away for cover.

The Israeli embassy in Washington and Syrian Consulate in Canada did not immediately comment or respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency.

The United Nations’ migration agency said Friday that nearly 80,000 people had been displaced altogether since clashes started on Sunday. It also noted that essential services, including water and electricity, have collapsed in Sweida, telecommunications systems are widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida and Daraa are under severe strain.

The World Health Organization was able to send trauma care supplies to Daraa province, but Sweida remains inaccessible.

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