PM says strikes in line with demilitarization policy, pledge to protect Druze; Damascus says truce reached with factions controlling Sweida, where sectarian violence has killed scores

Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority as deadly clashes continued in the region at the Israeli frontier.

Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze community in the country’s south on Tuesday, the government said, reigniting fears of attacks against minorities and triggering renewed Israeli strikes on the forces dispatched by Damascus.