Bedouin commander says ceasefire only applies to Damascus government, declares offensive with stated aim to free Bedouins held by Druze, after regime's retreat during IDF strikes

After five days of hunkering down at his home in the southern city of Sweida, 33-year-old Hossam emerged on Thursday and drove around to survey the damage. Wherever he went, the smell of death lingered.

Syrian officials and Druze leaders have announced a new ceasefire after days of violent clashes, but Israel has continued its airstrikes after intervening.

Israel said it "struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters" and warns of more "painful blows".

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.

He credited the United States, the Gulf States, and Turkey for mediating a ceasefire. The Syrian president then attempted to spin the Syrian withdrawal as planned, saying, “We are assigning local factions and tribal leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in Suwayda … based on the supreme national interest.”

The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities,” Shaara said the situation was easing with the intervention of the US, Arab, and Turkish mediators.

An AFP photographer counted 15 bodies on the street in the centre of Sweida today after government forces pulled out. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said more than 370 people have been killed in sectarian clashes in the city since Sunday.