Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

Israeli air raids struck eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and Syria's southern Suwayda region, as Israeli forces continued heavy bombardment across Gaza, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.According to Al Jazeera,

A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces to Sweida without Israel confronting them. The Syrian presidency announced on Saturday an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire following days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has left over 300 people dead.

It represented the single highest death toll in Israeli strikes on Syria since Oct. 7. Clashes continue on Israel-Lebanon border. An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon on Friday killed a Hezbollah ...

Every time Israel strikes Syria, it’s not protecting the Druze, it’s “attacking our identity,” the spiritual head of Lebanon’s Druze community Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona told Sputnik, as he voiced grave concerns over the spiraling violence in Syria’s Suwayda.

Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the U.S. envoy to Turkey said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people.