New details have emerged about the unprecedented telephone conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during the massacre of Druze civilians in As-Suwayda in July 2025.
According to a report by Naveh Dromi on i24NEWS on Thursday evening, the conversation took place on July 16, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., with Netanyahu demanding that Syrian forces immediately leave As-Suwayda and warning that Israel would intensify its military operations if they failed to comply.
During the conversation, al-Sharaa reportedly requested 48 hours to address the situation. Netanyahu rejected the request, insisting that the withdrawal take place before any further discussions.
"I want to be brief. Apparently, the message conveyed through the mediators was not properly understood. A genocide is being committed against the Druze. Your forces must withdraw from Suwayda by 10:00 p.m.," Netanyahu reportedly told the Syrian President.
Al-Sharaa responded, "I had hoped the conversation would go differently."
According to the report, Netanyahu made clear that Israel was prepared to escalate its strikes if the Syrian President did not comply with his demands.
Several hours after the conversation, the IDF carried out strikes against major targets in central Damascus, including the presidential palace complex and the building housing the Syrian military's chief of staff.
The report follows remarks Netanyahu made earlier Thursday at an election event for the Druze community, during which he revealed that he had personally spoken with al-Sharaa and credited the conversation and Israeli military strikes with bringing the massacre to an end.
"We took down the Defense Ministry in Damascus, just like that, it went. We took out a target in the palace complex. And I picked up a phone and called al-Sharaa; it was a very short call, very sharp, and the massacre stopped," Netanyahu stated.
The Prime Minister also reiterated his commitment to protecting the Druze population in Syria.
"I will do anything I need to protect our brothers, your brothers and our brothers. We will not allow a massacre; they have to also return to their homes. There is more work to do; I can't talk about it all. But this commitment comes from the depth of our soul," he declared.
According to i24NEWS, the transcript of the conversation is among approximately 1,000 documents in the possession of the State Comptroller, covering significant security and diplomatic discussions from the past three years.
The network said it would publish the complete transcript, alongside additional revelations from the documents, during its "Friday Cabinet" program on Friday.