Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Israel has agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people.

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.