The leaders of Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire days after major Israeli strikes​, a U.S. envoy said Friday, as he urged all sides in war-torn Syria to lay down arms.

Hundreds of people have been killed in days of violence in southern Syria which began with clashes between members of the Druze minority group and Bedouin tribes and drew a military intervention from Syria.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday accused Israel of attempting to drag Syria into a war and said his country would not take the bait. "We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us,

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Israel can’t intervene in every conflict around the world. But this felt different — it was a moral and familial obligation,’ says one Rabbi with a

Sectarian clashes in Southern Syria have shattered expectations of a speedy peace process between Jerusalem and Damascus.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's military actions in Syria, accusing the country of being a "terrorist state" as well as a destabilizing force in the region.