Syria announced it had begun withdrawing its army from Druze-majority Sweida city on Wednesday night after agreeing to a new ceasefire that it said would bring a complete halt to its military operations there.

Following a dramatic Israeli airstrike on Syria’s General Staff Headquarters in Damascus, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio called the escalation a “misunderstanding” and claimed de-escalation could be just hours away.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to reports of atrocities against local Druze residents.

Dozens of wounded and dead arrived at a hospital in Al-Mazraa in Syria's southern Sweida province on Tuesday following clashes between local militias, clans and government forces.

The Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida's residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups,

The ongoing unrest in Sweida has become both a political and security challenge for the Syrian government. What began as local clashes has now escalated into a broader crisis, with Druze armed groups resisting central authority,