The Israeli military has issued new evacuation warnings for central Gaza, an area where ground operations have been rare.

A U.S.-backed ceasefire appeared to be holding in Syria on Sunday, after deadly violence rocked the region, when hundreds of people were killed in the city of Suwayda. The violence marks the biggest challenge yet to the new government in Damascus that toppled Bashar al-Assad in December.

By Laila Bassam DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire.

The leaders of Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire days after major Israeli strikes​, a U.S. envoy said Friday, as he urged all sides in war-torn Syria to lay down arms.

Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels on Saturday signed a declaration of principles in Qatar to end decades-long fighting in eastern Congo that commits them to a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive peace agreement to be signed in one month.

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged Sunni Bedouin tribes to honor a ceasefire aimed at ending deadly clashes with Druze-linked militias

The Syrian government says the week-long sectarian clashes in the southern region of Sweida have now been halted - after the tribal fighters were made to leave.

The official proclamation showing that July 18 is now known as "Ceasefire Indy Day" in honor of activist Ron Gee. Frieson said, "My dad was seen, that his voice was heard, and I hope to be like him someday. She came up with a new campaign too using a catchphrase kids say all the time.

About 30,000 mostly Druze people are thought to be trapped inside the besieged city of Sweida and surrounding towns, with no electricity, little internet and dwindling supplies of food and water.