Netanyahu acknowledges direct contact with Syria’s al-Sharaa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken directly with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa about violence against Syria’s Druze community, marking his first public acknowledgment of direct contact between the two leaders.

In remarks delivered in Hebrew, Netanyahu said he called al-Sharaa after Israeli forces struck Syria’s Defense Ministry in Damascus and a target inside the presidential palace compound. Netanyahu said Israel would do whatever was necessary to protect the Druze community.