Israel announced that a ceasefire had been reached in the area, and that the Syrian forces were expected to withdraw from areas with Druze populations. Foreign Minister Gidion Sa'ar ordered the urgent transfer of aid to Sweida's Druze population as Syrian security forces prepare to redeploy to the Druze-majority Sweida city to quell fighting by the Druze and Bedouin tribes,

Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's nearly 14-year civil war.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday after U.S. intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters.

Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed nearly 600 people, according to a war monitor.

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.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community.