The United States has brokered a ceasefire in Syria after Israel intervened in support of Druze communities who came under attack

Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford is in southern Syria, where the government says escalating violence has been halted and a fragile ceasefire between rival factions is in place. Follow below for the latest updates.

The Damascus authorities must immediately reel in “violent jihadists,” hold them accountable, and prevent their entry to the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday,

P LUMES OF SMOKE rose over Damascus on July 16th as Israeli warplanes struck Syria’s capital. Targeting the presidential palace, the defence ministry and the army command, the attack killed at least one person and wounded several others.

Israel, which has murdered over 60,000 Palestinians - most of them women and children - in Gaza, wounded more than 130,000, and destroyed nearly 80 percent of the territory’s buildings, cannot now masquerade as a protector of minorities.

Sharaa, has vowed to protect the Druze minority amid deadly clashes in their heartland. A UK-based war monitor has put the death toll from the sectarian violence at 360. DW has more.

Israeli strikes blow up part of the defence ministry and hit close to the presidential palace. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, the secretive religious minority has long balanced integration and independence. Now, members are at the heart of the region’s shifting power struggles.

DAMASCUS - Western diplomats were passing near Syria's defence ministry in Damascus in an armoured convoy when Israel struck the building with several missiles on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter,