ISTANBUL

US Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Monday that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah “didn't work.”

“The bottom line is, you have a cessation of hostilities agreement that's in effect, it didn't work, right? So, there's reasons why that cessation of hostilities agreement didn't work, which is part of what we're all trying to solve,” he told reporters in Beirut.

“Hezbollah disarmament agreement is something that is so internal,” he said, adding that Hezbollah is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization.

“We have no skin in the game in discussing anything with Israel…We're discussing with the nation state, your government, how we can help,” he said.

Cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024. Despite a November ceasefire, Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah’s activities.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.

Inclusion of minorities

Commenting on the security situation in Suwayda province in southern Syria, Barrack called for allowing the Syrian government to shoulder its responsibility.

“What's happened is horrible, it's unthinkable. And the hope is that out of this, a consolidation of these issues occurs quicker,” he said.

“You have a Syrian government, in effect, they need to be held accountable. They also need to be given the responsibility that they're there to do.”

The US envoy stressed that Washington “has reacted to all the events in Syria is with unbelievable concern, pain, empathy, aid and a realization that in these young, nascent governing entities that are trying to be inclusive of minorities, how important the process of that inclusion and communication is, and the coordination of that with its neighbor, which is Israel.”

The US “has no business in trying to compel Israel to do anything. We're here, as I said 100 times, to help you come to a conclusion with your neighbors,” Barrack said.

On July 13, clashes broke out between Bedouin Arab tribes and armed Druze groups in Suwayda. Violence escalated, and Israeli airstrikes followed, including on Syrian military positions and infrastructure in Damascus.

Israel cited the “protection of Druze communities” as a pretext for its attacks.

Most Druze leaders in Syria, however, have publicly rejected any foreign interference and reaffirmed their commitment to a unified Syrian state.

In response to the escalating violence, the Syrian government announced four ceasefire deals in Suwayda, the latest of which was brokered Saturday.

The new Syrian government has been working to reestablish order nationwide since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8, 2024, ending his 24-year rule.