Calm appeared to have returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, a monitor and AFP correspondents reported, after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups left hundreds dead.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres" in the conflict-stricken south of the country.

Syrian security forces have begun deploying in the Druze-majority province of Sweida, where sectarian violence has left more than 700 people dead, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

The United States said early Saturday that it had negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Syria's government as new clashes erupted in Syria's Druze heartland following violence that prompted massive Israeli strikes.

At least 638 people have died since Sunday in violence between the Druze and Bedouins, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, drawing questions over the authority of Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday renewed his pledge to protect minorities, after sectarian clashes left more than 700 people dead in the Druze-majority province of Sweida.

Germany warned Syria's government Friday it needed to protect citizens of all religions and ethnicities to have Berlin's support, after accusations Syrian forces committed abuses against the Druze minority.

"This Syrian transitional government will only have our support if it commits to an inclusive process in Syria, if it protects people, and if it does not allow individuals to be persecuted because of their particular religious or ethnic affiliation, nor, worse yet, killed," Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

The European Union and Britain on Friday ramped up pressure on Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting Moscow's energy sector, shadow fleet of aging oil tankers and military intelligence service with new sanctions.

"The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after the bloc agreed its new measures, including a new oil price cap.

Israel said Friday it was sending humanitarian aid to Syria's Sweida province, following days of deadly clashes in the Druze heartland.

"In light of the recent attacks targeting the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian situation in the area, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has ordered the urgent transfer of humanitarian aid to the Druze population in the region," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah has welcomed the decision of a French appeals court to release pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats.

The injustice suffered by Georges Abdallah would remain a stain on the record of the French judicial and political system, Hezbollah said in a statement Thursday.

Four people were killed on Thursday in separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry reported, as Israel said it had targeted two Hezbollah members.

The attacks are the latest despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.