Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

‘Clashes’ in Syria to ‘end tonight,’ Rubio declares

The U.S. secretary of state said the agreed-upon steps will “require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made.”

Marco Rubio
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a press statement after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Feb. 16, 2025. Photo by Alex Kolomoisky/POOL via Flash90.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an agreement set to quell the recent engagements in Syria, stating on Wednesday that the situation will come “to an end tonight.”

Israel launched airstrikes into southern Syria, including targeting the entrance to the Syrian military earlier on Wednesday, to protect the Druze community from recent attacks by the Syrian regime forces.

“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria,” Rubio wrote. “We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”

He added that the agreement will “require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made; this is what we fully expect them to do.”

While the Israeli government has yet to comment directly on the matter, the Israel Defense Forces posted a quote from Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of the general staff of the IDF, shortly after Rubio’s announcement.

“We are acting decisively to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, protect Israeli citizens and prevent harm to Druze civilians,” Zamir wrote.

The “Associated Press” called the race for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan about two hours after polls closed.
The sides finalized plans to expand pilot zones in southern Lebanon as part of a U.S.-brokered framework aimed at restoring Lebanese sovereignty and disarming Hezbollah, the official said.
“World Vision is severely compromised by ties to Islamist terrorists and a radical left wing climate change agenda,” the senior Trump administration official told JNS. “Why is he funding them?”
The Board of Peace envoy said that Israel would not be required to withdraw from the Strip until Hamas disarms.