Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Syrian government troops will be blocked from the area south of the capital Damascus to protect the Druze minority following Israel's attacks in the country earlier this week.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.

No Syrian forces are to head south of Damascus, which is an area that must be demilitarized appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

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Israel and Syria agreed on a ceasefire after days of heightened tensions and Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said on Friday. Why it matters: The Trump administration that mediated the ceasefire has become extremely concerned that the crisis this week could further destabilize the region and undermine the U.

In a stunning shift, Druze communities in Syria’s Sweida region have been seen cheering and saluting Israeli forces entering their areas. The IDF says its operation aims to protect the Druze people from escalating violence by Syrian government troops under Al-Sharaa.