In a hardening of his rhetoric against Syria’s southern neighbour, Mr Sharaa accused Israel of seeking to foment “endless chaos”. He said Syria faced a choice between “open war with the Israeli entity” or handing security in the Sweida province over to factions from the country’s Druze minority.

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Israel has agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday after days of bloodshed in and around Syria'

The plots have largely preyed on economically vulnerable Israelis with relatively weak social ties. In one high-profile case, police arrested two young men in Tiberias on June 15, according to the Times of Israel. The two were each promised $60,000 to assassinate a top Israeli scientist.

The conflict drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze minority before most of the fighting was halted by a truce announced Wednesday.

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured during an Israeli strike, sources told CBS News — though it's unclear if he was intentionally targeted.

Slovenia declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata on Thursday, the first European Union country to do so, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.