Ceasefire reached in Sweida, Israel strikes Damascus

DAMASCUS: Syria said a new ceasefire was reached Wednesday in Sweida, a day after an earlier truce collapsed amid days of violence that have killed more than 300, according to a monitor.

“An agreement was reached for a ceasefire in Sweida and the deployment of security checkpoints in the city,” an unidentified interior ministry source said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

The announcement came as Israel attack the “military targets” in Damascus and Sweida, in its latest aggression in the volatile Middle East.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the situation in Syria is “complicated” but looks like a “misunderstanding” and he thinks progress towards de-escalation will be made in the next few hours.

Before Reuters reported his statement, Axios, citing a senior official, said that US President Donald Trump’s administration asked Israel again on Wednesday to halt strikes on Syria and engage in dialogue with the government in Damascus.

Read more: Sunni-led Middle East order: Trump’s Gulf tour reshapes politics

However, Axios did not say whether that request came before or after Israeli strikes on Wednesday on Syria’s military headquarters and near the presidential palace in Damascus.

ABUSERS TO BE PUNISHED

Earlier, the Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida’s residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups, witnesses and local factions.

In a statement, the presidency said they “strongly condemn these heinous acts and affirm our full commitment to investigating all related incidents and punishing all those proven to be involved”.

On the other hand, Israel continued carrying out strikes inside Syria, including the military headquarters in Damascus, claiming that the aim is to “protect” the Druze population.

In this connection, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported that there have been casualties following the Israeli attacks on Damascus, but did not share any number.

On the other hand, Reuters quoted a witness as saying that an Israeli attack also hit next to the presidential palace in Damascus.

But Israel claimed it was a military target.

Earlier in the day, Syrian state media said that the Israeli military struck the Druze-majority city of Sweida, where Syrian government forces have deployed despite Israeli warnings.

“Israeli occupation drones target the city of Sweida,” state-run SANA said.

An AFP correspondent witnessed a strike on a military truck at Sweida’s western entrance, where government forces had gathered before deploying into the city.

DEATH TOLL TOPS 300

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people have been killed in days of violence in Sweida province.

It said that since clashes erupted on Sunday, 69 Druze fighters were killed as well as 40 civilians, 27 of whom in “summary executions… by members of the defence and interior ministries”, while 165 government forces and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed, along with 10 members of the government’s security forces in Israeli strikes.

‘PAINFUL BLOWS’

On the other hand, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday warned Syria that it would hit the country hard after deadly clashes that saw government forces align with Bedouin fighters in clashes against the Druze.

Read more: GCC says Israeli attacks on Syria are a threat to regional peace

“The signals to Damascus are over — now come the painful blows,” he said, promising that the Israeli military would “operate forcefully” in Syria’s southern Sweida region “to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal”.

At the same time, an Israeli military official told reporters that some troops stationed in the Gaza Strip were to be redeployed along the border with Syria.

MILITARY HEADQUARTERS BOMBED

Also on Wednesday, Israel said it had hit Syria’s military headquarters, after vowing to step up strikes unless the government withdrew its forces from areas in Syria’s south that recently saw deadly clashes between Druze and Bedouin tribes.

“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria,” a statement read.

Confirming the news, the state-run Alekhbariya channel reported on Telegram that an Israeli strike hit near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus.

AFP correspondents heard a loud explosion echoing throughout much of the capital, shortly after a first air strike had targeted the same building in the city centre.

Read more: Hezbollah for action, Syria warns of blowback after Israel air strikes

Later in afternoon, the Israeli army launched new strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters, state-run television channel said, after earlier attacks.

State television reported “a new aggression by the Israeli occupation air force in Umayyad Square, near the headquarters building in central Damascus”.

A live broadcast by the Qatari channel Al Jazeera showed a series of airstrikes on the headquarters building, with smoke billowing into the sky and parts of the building damaged.

On the other hand, Syria’s health ministry said a series of Israeli strikes targeting the army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus killed one person and wounded another 18.

AFP correspondents said the strikes destroyed part of a four-storey building adjacent to the defence ministry, while the city’s usually bustling Umayyad Square nearby was empty except for ambulances and military vehicles.

CROSS-BORDER MOVEMENT

On the other hand, the Israeli military also said that it was working to stop people crossing from Syria, after deadly unrest between Druze and Bedouin fighters.

“A short while ago, (Israeli) troops identified dozens of suspects attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from the area of Hader in Syria,” a statement said, adding that soldiers and border police were “operating to prevent the infiltration”.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Al Jazeera, told the Druze community in Israel that the situation in Sweida is “very severe”.

He said the Israeli army continues to carry out strikes on the Syrian military and is working to “save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime gangs”.

At the same time, he asked the Druze people not to cross into Syria.

“And now I have one request from you: You are the citizens of Israel. Don’t pass the border.”

“You endanger your life. You can be murdered. You can be kidnapped, and you hurt the [Israeli army’s] efforts. So I ask you – go back to your homes, let the [army] act,” he added.

It’s a developing story. Details to follow.