Syria's armed Bedouin clans on Sunday announced that they had withdrawn from Sweida following over a week of clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city.

Today we, the Druze, are being slaughtered and are calling for the help of Israel.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared this message publicly and issued a clear reply. “We have taken action,” he said.

Tom Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria and is aiding ceasefire talks, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of Syria’s interim president, as well as neighbouring Jordan.

The Druze, a religious sect with roots in Ismailism, have faced violence in Syria. Their practices are secretive, with no conversions or intermarriage allowed.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday after U.S. intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters.

Sectarian fighting has resumed in southern Syria, prompting the government to redeploy forces to the region, which had pulled out after a ceasefire was brokered. Bedouin tribesmen and other militias have clashed with the Druze minority and hundreds are reported dead.