Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, responded after the ceasefire to the violent events in southern Syria and to Israel’s involvement. He accused Israel of sowing chaos and vowed to prosecute those who harmed the Druze. In a direct message to the Druze community, he emphasized: “Protecting your rights and freedoms is our top priority.”
Massoud Pezeshkian, who said he narrowly escaped Israeli assassination just weeks ago, had to to travel by taxi to Tabriz during his visit there on Thursday after a technical malfunction in his convoy caused by fuel contaminated with water.
According to a diplomatic source, Israel agreed to allow Syrian regime interior forces to enter the area to maintain order.
A source in Syria’s Interior Ministry told the country’s official news agency that a ceasefire agreement had been reached in Sweida. Meanwhile, an American official revealed that the Trump administration had asked Israel to halt its attacks.
Hundreds of armed Druze civilians have crossed the border fence from Israel into Syria near Majdal Shams. In response, the IDF has decided to reinforce its troop presence along the Syrian border near the fence.
Syria's new Islamist government has deployed elite units to the Druze city of Sweida, marking a significant escalation in efforts to consolidate control over minorities. They operate under Ahmed al-Sharaa's command, forming the military backbone of the new Syrian order.
“The IDF will continue striking regime forces until they retreat from the area. Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria,” the defense minister’s statement read. Yesterday, the IDF struck Syrian army targets to halt their advance on Sweida.
Syrian regime troops have taken control of most of Sweida, the capital of the Druze Mountain region, in a brutal assault marked by mass executions, humiliations, and house-to-house killings targeting the Druze minority.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli called for the assassination of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, amid ongoing Israeli strikes targeting the regime in Syria.
Tanks and artillery accompany government troops as Druze militias resist in the streets, despite Israeli intervention a day earlier to protect community.
