Israel and Syria Reach Ceasefire Agreement Following Days of Conflict

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Key Points

Israel and Syria have come to a ceasefire arrangement following several days of conflict.
Tensions in the Sweida province escalated due to battles between Bedouin and Druze groups.
The United States played a role in establishing an earlier peace agreement between government forces and Druze fighters.

Following intense violence in the mainly Druze region, which resulted in over 300 casualties, Israel and Syria have agreed to ceasefire talks, according to the US envoy to Turkey.

On Wednesday, Israel initiated airstrikes on Damascus targeting government positions in the south. Israel insisted on a withdrawal, asserting its intent to defend the Druze population, a small but vital community also present in Lebanon and Israel.

“We urge the Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to lay down their arms and unite with other minorities to forge a new Syrian identity,” stated Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, on X.

The Israeli embassy in Washington and the Syrian consulate in Canada have yet to comment on the ceasefire agreement.

Days of violence

Syria’s Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions.

Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

On Friday evening, the Syrian presidency announced a plan to deploy forces in the south to quell ongoing clashes, alongside political and security actions aimed at restoring peace and preventing further conflict.

The US intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and the White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be holding.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties with the US, accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority.

Reuters reporters saw a convoy of units from Syria’s interior ministry stopped on a road in Daraa province, which lies directly east of Sweida. A security source told Reuters that forces were awaiting a final green light to enter Sweida.

Nonetheless, Reuters reported that thousands of Bedouin fighters continued to flock to Sweida on Friday, raising concerns among locals that the violence could persist without resolution.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field executions by all sides.

Syria’s minister for emergencies said more than 500 wounded had been treated and hundreds of families had been evacuated out of the city.

Clashes continued in the north and west of Sweida province, according to residents and Ryan Marouf, the head of local news outlet Sweida24.

Residents said they had little food and water, and that electricity had been cut to the city for several days.

The head of the UN human rights office urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability for what it said are credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting, including summary executions and kidnappings, the office said in a statement.

At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on Tuesday when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day.

The UN refugee agency on Friday urged all sides to allow humanitarian access, which it said had been curtailed by the violence.

Israel’s deep distrust of Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the United States, which said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria.