Syrian Army leaves Suwayda under U.S.-brokered deal amid Israeli airstrikes

The Syrian Army is withdrawing from Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria under a U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at ending days of deadly clashes and halting Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian military sites, according to officials.

“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced earlier on Wednesday. “This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do.”

According to Barak Ravid of Axios, the Trump administration has asked Israel to halt its strikes on Syrian government targets and to begin direct talks with Damascus.

A senior U.S. official told Axios the request came amid growing concerns that Israeli airstrikes—some of which have targeted Syrian military headquarters in Damascus and near the presidential palace—could destabilize the post-Assad government.

Clashes in the city of Suwayda in recent days have involved Druze militias, Bedouin gangs, Syrian government-affiliated militias, and Syrian security forces. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 250 people have been killed.

Tensions escalated when Israel attacked Syrian tanks that had entered Suwayda, with Israeli officials claiming the tanks violated a demilitarized zone. Syrian authorities had reportedly informed Israel of the tanks in advance and stated that the deployment was not directed at Israel.

Israeli officials have said the strikes were intended to protect the Druze minority in Syria, citing appeals from Druze leaders in Israel who accused Syrian government-linked militias of massacres.

On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes destroyed the Ministry of Defense and General Staff Headquarters in Damascus. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, “The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria. The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria.”

The new government in Damascus, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa—a former commander of the Turkish-backed group Tahrir al-Sham, which previously severed ties with al-Qaeda—took power after opposition forces seized the capital in a rapid offensive late last year. Assad fled the country on December 8 and was granted asylum in Russia.