Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said on Friday. The deal was “embraced” by Turkey, Jordan and other neighboring countries, the ambassador, who also serves as the US special envoy to Syria, said in a post on X.

Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel.

The agreement comes after intense clashes displaced tens of thousands of people and contributed to a worsening humanitarian crisis in a region still recovering from over a decade of brutal civil war.V