(Reuters) -Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.

The Syrian government announced Thursday that local leaders would assume control over security in the city of Sweida in an attempt to end violence that has claimed hundreds of lives and prompted

France has called for an immediate end to what it described as “abuses targeting civilians” in the Syrian city of Sweida, following reports of summary executions and other violations allegedly

Israel threatened to escalate attacks on Syrian government forces unless they withdrew from Sweida, a southern province dominated by the country’s Druse minority.

Minister of Health of Syria stated that Israeli aircraft prevented a medical convoy from entering the city, noting an airstrike targeting moving vehicles

Israel intervened in a situation involving the Druze, a religious minority whose members live in Syria and Israel.

President Ahmed al-Shara said the attack threatened to escalate sectarian violence in his sharpest criticism of Israel since coming to power.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.