Syrian-Druze leader announces ceasefire with Damascus

Yahoo

16-07-2025

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel intensified its military operations against Damascus, striking the military headquarters and the area surrounding the Presidential Palace.
Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
An earlier ceasefire announced on Tuesday night collapsed after only a few hours. There was still fire from government forces in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida after the announcement was made, according to a Reuters witness.
Syria's state news agency, SANA, corroborated the reports of a ceasefire agreement, adding that security checkpoints were deployed across Sweida.
The IDF struck the entrance to the Syrian regime's military headquarters complex in Damascus, the military confirmed earlier on Wednesday.
IDF footage showing airstrikes on Damascus, July 16, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Israel struck the complex a second time later on Wednesday afternoon, also striking the area around Damascus's Presidential Palace, local media reported.
Several officers were injured and killed in the strikes on the military headquarters, according to local reports, including a sector commander and other officers responsible for part of the Syria-Jordan border region, and an officer in Syria's artillery force.
The strikes on Damascus killed one and injured 18, according to a report by Syria's state news agency, SANA.
Israel also conducted strikes on Daraa, according to SANA.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hearing on Wednesday was cut short due to the IDF's strike on Syrian regime targets.
Israeli drones reportedly targeted Syria's city of Sweida earlier, where clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters have resumed, SANA reported.
Much of Sweida is under the control of Druze forces, and the city also hosts a smaller population of Christian and Muslim minorities.
The IDF said it would reinforce its troops along the Syrian border as it continued to monitor the regime's actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria following a situational assessment.
Clashes broke out on Sunday between Druze forces and local Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni.
Syrian government forces were deployed to the area and clashed with the local armed groups.
On Monday, the IDF struck several Syrian regime tanks that were advancing towards Sweida as the government forces gained control of at least one Druze village in the area.
Katz stated Israel would defend the Druze community
Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel would escalate its level of attacks on the Syrian regime if they do not soon withdraw from Sweida.
Katz and Netanyahu previously instructed the IDF to prepare to defend the Druze in Syria, as recently as March, after clashes broke out in Jaramana, a city on the outskirts of Damascus, between local Druze forces and the Syrian regime.
"We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze," Netanyahu and Katz said in a statement. "If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us. We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all necessary steps to maintain their security."
This is a developing story.
Amichai Stein and Maariv contributed to this report.