Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "agreed to cease fire", Mr. Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and Ambassador to Syria, shared on July 18.
"We call on the Druze, Bedouin and Sunni to lay down their weapons and, together with other ethnic minorities, build a new Syrian identity, unified in peace and prosperity with neighboring countries," he said.
On July 16, Israel carried out major airstrikes on the Syrian capital Damascus, including targeting military headquarters.
Israel has said it is defending the Druze community after deadly clashes between the Druze minority living in Israel and the Bedouins in the sweida region of southern Syria.
Some diplomats and analysts believe that Israel is maximizing possible damage to weaken traditional Syria after the transition of power in the country in December 2024.
On the same day, July 16, the US announced an agreement in which Syrian government forces withdrew from sweida. The US State Department later stressed that the US does not support Israeli airstrikes in Syria.
