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Israel and Syria agree ceasefire as Israel allows Syrian troops limited access to Sweida
Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the U.S. envoy to Turkey said on Friday. Ceasefire comes after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people. Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw. Israel has vowed to shield the area’s Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel’s own Druze minority.”We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity,” Tom Barrack, the ambassador to Turkey, said in a post on X.X.Rights group: The Network for Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among them medical personnel, including women and children. The White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be holding the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and that it was supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors. The Israeli embassy in Washington and Syrian consulate in Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Item 1 of 3 Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, collapsing a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri/File Photo
Summary Ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors
Syria’s Sweida province rocked by days of violence
Over 300 killed in fighting, human rights group says
Syrian forces to get limited access to Sweida province
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, July 18 (Reuters) – Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the U.S. envoy to Turkey said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people.
On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze – part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel.
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“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity,” Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said in a post on X.
Barrack said that Israel and Syria agreed to the ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors.
The Israeli embassy in Washington and Syrian consulate in Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Syria’s Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions.
Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.
The Syrian presidency said late on Friday that authorities would deploy a force in the south dedicated to ending the clashes, in coordination with political and security measures to restore stability and prevent the return of violence.
Damascus earlier this week dispatched government troops to quell the fighting, but they were accused of carrying out widespread violations against the Druze and were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a truce agreed on Wednesday.
Israel had repeatedly said it would not allow Syrian troops to deploy to the country’s south, but on Friday it said it would grant them a brief window to end renewed clashes there.
“In light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours,” the official, who declined to be named, told reporters.
Describing Syria’s new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has vowed to shield the area’s Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel’s own Druze minority.
It carried out more strikes on Sweida in the early hours of Friday.
The U.S. intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and the White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be holding.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties with the U.S., accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority.
Reuters reporters saw a convoy of units from Syria’s interior ministry stopped on a road in Daraa province, which lies directly east of Sweida. A security source told Reuters that forces were awaiting a final green light to enter Sweida.
But thousands of Bedouin fighters were still streaming into Sweida on Friday, the Reuters reporters said, prompting fears among residents that violence would continue unabated.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field executions by all sides.
Syria’s minister for emergencies said more than 500 wounded had been treated and hundreds of families had been evacuated out of the city.
‘NOTHING AT ALL’
Clashes continued in the north and west of Sweida province, according to residents and Ryan Marouf, the head of local news outlet Sweida24.
Residents said they had little food and water, and that electricity had been cut to the city for several days.
“For four days, there has been no electricity, no fuel, no food, no drink, nothing at all,” said Mudar, a 28-year-old resident of Sweida who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of reprisals.
“The clashes haven’t stopped,” he said, adding that “we can’t get news easily because there’s barely internet or phone coverage.”
The head of the U.N. human rights office urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability for what it said are credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting, including summary executions and kidnappings, the office said in a statement.
At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on Tuesday when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day.
The UN refugee agency on Friday urged all sides to allow humanitarian access , which it said had been curtailed by the violence.
Israel’s deep distrust of Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the United States, which said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria.
Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem, Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva and Ahmed Tolba and Enas Alashray in Cairo, Jasper Ward in Washington; Writing by Andrew Mills, Nayera Abdallah and Don Durfee; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Rachna Uppal, Timothy Heritage and Cynthia Osterman
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Israel says missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted
Yemen’s Houthi group launches missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. Israeli military says the missile was intercepted by air raid sirens. Arab mediators are trying to reach a deal to end the 21-month-old conflict. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of obstructing a deal.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones the Houthis have launched at Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
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The Iran-aligned Houthis have been firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes. Traffic through the Red Sea, a critical waterway for the world’s oil and commodities, has dropped since the militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what the group said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the 21-month war that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier on Friday, Hamas said that while the group favours reaching an interim truce, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of obstructing progress towards a deal.
Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Franklin Paul, Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis
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UN refugee agency concerned about impact of Sweida hostilities on aid operations
The U.N. estimated on Thursday that about 2,000 families had been displaced from areas affected by violence in Sweida Province. Syria’s government sent troops this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell fighting between Bedouins and Druze. Needs on the ground are considerable, the UNHCR said, with water in short supply and hospitals overwhelmed by the number of injured needing treatment. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, an independent monitoring group, said it had documented 254 people killed in four days of fighting, including medical personnel, women and children.
Item 1 of 5 A person, injured in recent clashes in Syria’s Sweida province, is transported as casualties receive treatment at a field medical point, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Deraa, Syria July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
GENEVA, July 18 (Reuters) – The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern on Friday about the impact of hostilities in Syria’s southern city of Sweida on its aid operations, and urged all sides to allow more humanitarian access.
Syria’s government sent troops this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell fighting between Bedouins and Druze, but the violence grew until a fragile ceasefire took hold.
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“The situation in Sweida is very concerning. It is very difficult for us to operate there … at the moment our capacity to deliver aid is very limited,” William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva.
“We are calling on all parties to allow humanitarian access,” he said.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, an independent monitoring group, said it had documented 254 people killed in four days of fighting , including medical personnel, women and children.
The UNHCR said its operations had been impacted by road closures and that it had had to move all 15 staff members in its office in rural Sweida out of the area because of safety concerns.
The U.N. estimated on Thursday that about 2,000 families had been displaced from areas affected by violence in Sweida Province. The UNHCR said this number was continuing to rise.
“At the moment our capacity to deliver aid is very limited. We are calling on all parties to allow humanitarian access,” Spindler said. The UNHCR also said it was challenging to support people in displacement centres established by the authorities.
Needs on the ground are considerable, the UNHCR said, with water in short supply and hospitals overwhelmed by the number of injured needing treatment.
“They need things like blankets and solar lamps…we have that in stock and are ready to deliver them as soon as the security allows it,” Spindler said.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Miranda Murray, Matthias Williams and Timothy Heritage
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Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly
U.S. President Donald Trump says another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly. Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks. The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) – Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.
Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
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“We got most of the hostages back. We’re going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,” Trump said.
Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.
A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war , but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.
The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler and Himani Sarkar
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U.S. firms to develop Syria energy master plan after Trump lifts sanctions
Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a master plan for Syria’s oil, gas and power sector. The move marks a swift turnaround as U.S. companies enter a country previously under one of the world’s tightest sanctions regimes
The move marks a swift turnaround as U.S. companies enter a country previously under one of the world’s tightest sanctions regimes that U.S. President Donald Trump lifted at the end of June.
The companies plan to help explore and extract oil and gas and produce power to help get the economy running as the government seeks to put Syria back on the map. The plan comes after a dash by other companies, many from Gulf Arab states, to sign deals to bolster Syria’s power generation and ports infrastructure.