Fresh hope has returned to Syria after days of deadly clashes between the Druze minority and other armed groups spiralled into wider violence.
A new ceasefire was reached Wednesday night, just hours after Israel launched a bold airstrike on Syria’s Defence Ministry in Damascus.
The building, close to a crowded square in the capital, was hit following what Israel called “a recurring phenomenon of persecution of minorities to the point of murder and pogroms.”
The airstrike marked a dramatic turn in the crisis. It forced the hand of the warring factions and brought US diplomacy into sharp focus.
“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X. “We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”
He also urged each side to “deliver on the commitments they have made.”
The fighting began over the weekend, when tensions flared between Druze groups and Bedouin factions in southern Syria.
Government forces tried to step in, but their involvement only deepened the chaos.
Israel Steps In, Syria Pushes Back
By Monday, the violence had escalated sharply.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry pointed fingers at both the interim Syrian government and rogue militias. It claimed they had turned a blind eye to waves of killings.
“There have been mass murders against the Alawites in northwestern Syria, on a very large scale,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said. He also listed “constant acts of hostility” against Kurds in the north.
Israel’s intervention drew sharp condemnation from Syria’s acting president Ahmad al-Sharaa.
In a televised speech early Thursday, al-Sharaa said Syria would not allow itself to be divided along ethnic lines.
“We reject any attempt, foreign or domestic, to sow division within our ranks,” he said. “We are all partners in this land… We will not allow any group to distort the beautiful image that Syria and its diversity represent.”
So far, Syria’s Interior Ministry has only confirmed that 30 people were killed in the clashes.
But independent monitors say the death toll is far higher.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 300 dead as of Wednesday.
The renewed ceasefire, announced after Israel’s strike, now raises a key question:
Will this truce hold?
What do you think? Can this peace deal survive the next few weeks?You can also track updates from The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Office.
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