In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he spoke with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa shortly after Israel bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus in July 2025, in what would be the first publicly disclosed contact between the two countries’ leaders.

During a visit to the Druze village of Yarka in northern Israel, Netanyahu said, “I called Sharaa. It was a very brief and to-the-point conversation, and the massacre stopped.” Netanyahu was referring to the violence in Suwayda in July 2025, which began as fighting between Druze and Bedouin groups in the city and surrounding villages. Government forces sided with the Bedouin fighters, and more than 1,700 people were killed. The UN said in a March report that Druze civilians were especially targeted but noted violations by both sides.

The Syrian government said in a statement later on Thursday that the Druze are an “integral part” of the country, adding that Damascus “rejects its politicization or its forcible insertion into Israeli propaganda and elections.”

Syria accused Israel of seeking to undermine stability in Suwayda, adding that they remain committed to the US-Jordanian-Syrian roadmap for the province. The agreement was reached in September 2025 and sought to restore security to the area.

The statement did not address any conversation between Sharaa and Netanyahu.

Israel and Syria have held direct and indirect talks since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, seeking a security agreement.

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Syria has regularly condemned Israeli operations on its territory. On Thursday, Damascus accused Israeli forces of setting fire to a warehouse in the Daraa countryside.

“We took out the Ministry of Defense in Damascus; we took out a target inside the palace compound,” Netanyahu said, adding that he would do whatever it takes to protect the Druze and help them return to their homes. “There is still work to be done; I can’t reveal everything. But this commitment comes from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

Shortly after Assad’s ouster, Israeli forces entered Syria and seized the UN-patrolled buffer zone and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. US-brokered talks were put on hold after Israel and the United States launched a joint military operation against Iran in February 2026.

Ahead of Israel's general election on Oct. 27, Netanyahu has increasingly been focusing on security issues, an issue that resonates with Israel's right-wing electorate. The Israeli leader also visited Israel's eastern border in the Jordan Valley on Thursday, where a new security barrier is being erected.

This story has been updated since its initial publication.