This story originally appeared in the JC’s Israel Briefing newsletter. You can sign up to the free daily email briefing here
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he spoke with Syria’s president to discuss the plight of Syrian Druze during Israeli strikes on Damascus in July 2025, in what appears to be the first ever publicly acknowledged direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries.
The Israeli prime minister said the brief exchange with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the successor to Bashar al-Assad, came after Israel bombed Syrian government targets, amid a wave of killings of members of Syria's Druze minority.
“I picked up the phone to Sharaa,” Netanyahu told a conference for members of Israel's Druze community in Yarka on Thursday. “It was a very short and very sharp conversation. And the slaughter stopped.”
To get more Israel news, click here to sign up for our free Israel Briefing newsletter.