Ceasefire Agreement Established Between Syria and Israel with US Facilitation
Damascus: Leaders from Syria and Israel have successfully negotiated a ceasefire agreement, facilitated by the United States, following violent sectarian confrontations in southern Syria that led to significant Israeli military action. US Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, announced the truce early Saturday, revealing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an accord to halt hostilities under the guidance of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
This agreement also has the support of regional stakeholders such as Turkey, Jordan, and other neighboring countries of Syria. Barrack urged members of the Druze, Bedouin, and Sunni communities to lay down their arms and collaborate with other minority groups to forge a new unified Syrian identity characterized by peace and prosperity alongside its neighbors. The ceasefire comes in response to six days of intense sectarian violence in Sweida province that resulted in hundreds of fatalities and raised concerns about a wider regional conflict.
According to local TV reports citing sources, the ceasefire agreement allows Syrian government security forces and military units to re-enter all areas within Sweida. The terms require the disbanding of local factions, surrendering heavy weaponry, and integrating former combatants into state security frameworks. The spiritual leaders of the Druze community released a statement welcoming this truce and expressed a willingness to end current hostilities while advocating for a return to “wisdom and reason.”
The announcement arrives amid escalating humanitarian issues in Sweida, where United Nations aid convoys have recently been obstructed from accessing affected areas, as reported by Xinhua news agency. There has been no official comment from Syrian authorities regarding the ceasefire agreement. The sudden outbreak of violence in Sweida has triggered a complex crisis that reveals Syria’s precarious stability just six months after the previous government’s collapse, sending ripples throughout the region.
In recent days, Sweida experienced some of the most severe intra-Syrian clashes seen in years. What began as a local dispute between members of the Druze community and Bedouin tribes rapidly evolved into an extensive urban conflict involving Syrian government forces. By Thursday, nearly 600 casualties were reported—this figure includes numerous civilians as well as fighters from various factions—according to data from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), based in Britain.
