Netanyahu Reveals Phone Call with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that he had a "short and sharp" phone conversation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa more than a year ago.

According to Netanyahu, the call took place following Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian Ministry of Defense and strikes near the presidential palace in Damascus in July 2025.

This announcement marks the first report of a conversation between Netanyahu and al-Sharaa, who assumed power in late 2024 after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

It is also the first time ever that the leaders of Israel and Syria, countries that have fought numerous wars against each other, have spoken directly.

Speaking at a Likud party conference dedicated to the Druze community, Netanyahu said: "I called al-Sharaa. It was an extremely short and very sharp conversation. And as a result, the massacre operations (targeting the Druze in Syria) stopped."

At the time, Israel stated that the "bombing aimed to protect the Druze in southern Syria," amid sectarian conflict in the predominantly Druze Sweida province.

Netanyahu added to the audience at the conference: "I will do my utmost to protect our brothers and your brothers."

Israel and the al-Sharaa government are currently discussing a security agreement, with Syria demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a buffer zone controlled by the Israeli army along the border since Assad's ouster, while Israel refuses.