The government announcement came hours after a top U.S. envoy to the region said that the country and Israel had agreed to a truce after sectarian-tinged clashes had left hundreds dead.

Earlier Israeli strikes hit the Syrian defence ministry, as well as government forces in the southern part of the country.

A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces to Sweida without Israel confronting them. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said on Friday that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey,

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged Sunni Bedouin tribes to honor a ceasefire aimed at ending deadly clashes with Druze-linked militias Sweida.

That afternoon, Netanyahu and Katz ordered the Israeli military to once again attack government forces and weaponry in Suweida. They said they were working to prevent them from harming the Druze and to "ensure the demilitarisation" of areas near Israel's border.

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -U.S.-based firms Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a masterplan for Syria's oil, gas and power sector, Argent LNG CEO Jonathan Bass said on Friday, in a partnership aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure shattered by 14 years of civil war.

Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control.Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad,