Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa “have agreed to a ceasefire” also backed by neighbours Turkey and Jordan, said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who is also the point man on Syria.

“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours,” he wrote on X.

Israel on Wednesday carried out major air strikes inside the Syrian capital Damascus including on the army headquarters.

Israel said it was defending the Druze community after deadly clashes between the minority, which has a presence in Israel, and Bedouins in the southern Syrian area of Sweida.

Some diplomats and analysts see Israel as maximising the damage it can to weaken its historic adversary Syria after Sharaa’s Islamist forces toppled long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally, in December.

The US on Wednesday announced a deal in which Syrian government forces retreated from Sweida.

The state department later said that the US did not support the air strikes by Israel, its ally which relies on US diplomatic and military support.