A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces to Sweida without Israel confronting them. The Syrian presidency announced on Saturday an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire following days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has left over 300 people dead.

Armed Bedouin clans have withdrawn from the Druze-majority Syrian city of Sweida after a week of deadly clashes.

State Department says 'engaging diplomatically' with Israel, Syria at 'highest levels' to address present crisis - Anadolu Ajansı

Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

The US said it has brokered steps to ease tensions between Israel and Syria, after recent clashes and Israeli airstrikes in Syria. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the involved parties have agreed on “specific steps” aimed at ending tensions.

Twenty Palestinians were killed at a food distribution center run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, mostly from being trampled, the group said. They were the first deaths reported at one of the Gaza Humanitarian Fund sites,

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck "the entrance" of Syria's military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.