Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention.

Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

Amid Israeli strikes and sectarian violence, Turkey is doubling down on preserving Syrian territorial integrity, hoping to manage refugee returns and prevent Kurdish autonomy.

Syria's defense minister has announced a ceasefire just hours after government forces entered a key city in the volatile Sweida province.

Several days of bitter sectarian fighting in the south of Syria has brought the fledgling government in Damascus dangerously close to direct conflict with Israel, after Israeli warplanes launched strikes against government buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on July 16.