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.

Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.

Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A Turkish official said Thursday that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief İbrahim Kalin held a series of diplomatic and security contacts to de-escalate the clashes in Syria's Sweida.

They worked with the U.S. special envoy for Syria, Israel, and regional officials and leaders, including Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblat, said the official who requested anonymity to discuss the issue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said a ceasefire in Syria was "obtained by force", after Israel struck military targets in the heart of Damascus in response to government troops attacking the Druze in Sweida.

"It is a ceasefire obtained by force. Not by demands, not by pleas -- by force," he said in a statement.

Over 500 people people have been killed in southern Syria's Sweida province, a war monitor said Thursday, giving an updated toll after several days of clashes that triggered the deployment of government forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted 79 Druze fighters and 154 civilians from Sweida among the dead, including 83 people "who were summarily executed by members of the defense and interior ministries". The clashes also claimed the lives of 243 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters, in addition to three members of Bedouin tribes "who were summarily executed by Druze fighters".

President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East.

Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain's crown prince and dined privately with Qatar's prime minister.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political blow on Wednesday as a key governing partner announced it was quitting his coalition government, leaving him with a minority in parliament as the country faces a litany of challenges.

Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party that has long served as kingmaker in Israeli politics, announced that it would bolt the government over disagreements surrounding a proposed law that would enshrine broad military draft exemptions for its constituents — the second ultra-Orthodox governing party to do so this week.

Syrian government forces largely withdrew from the southern province of Sweida Thursday following days of vicious clashes with militias of the Druze minority.

Under a ceasefire agreement reached the day before, which largely halted the hostilities, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday.

A fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people, including children, Iraqi officials said Thursday.

Civil defense teams rescued more than 45 people who became trapped when the fire broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Others are still missing, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said an Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church killed two people on Thursday, as Israel said it "never targets" religious sites.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that "Israeli strikes on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family Church", slamming "unacceptable" attacks on the civilian population.