Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday hailed U.S., Arab and Turkish mediation for saving the region from an "unknown fate", while criticizing Israel for targeting civilian and government facilities.

"The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities," he said in a televised address.

Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel.

Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement.

The Israeli military launched Wednesday rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters as clashes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida continued to flare.

Israel's attack came hours after a drone strike on the same building. Syrian state media reported at least one dead and 18 other people wounded. Another strike hit near the presidential palace in the hills outside of Damascus.

The United States' special envoy for Syria on Wednesday called on all parties to step back and engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire in Syria following clashes with Druze factions in the south and Israeli strikes in Damascus.

"We unequivocally condemn violence against civilians in Sweida... All parties must step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire," Tom Barrack said on X, adding that "perpetrators need to be held accountable".

Drones targeted oil fields in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks in recent days that have put several oil facilities out of commission.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have exacerbated tensions between the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish authorities.

The Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida's residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups, witnesses and local factions.

In a statement, the presidency said they "strongly condemn these heinous acts and affirm our full commitment to investigating all related incidents and punishing all those proven to be involved".

Twenty Palestinians were killed Wednesday in the crush of a crowd at a food distribution site run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip, the group said, the first time it has acknowledged deadly violence at its operations. The deaths came as Israeli strikes killed 41 others, including 11 children, according to hospital officials.

The Gaza Humanitarian Fund accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting panic and spreading misinformation that led to the violence, though it provided no evidence to support the claim.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it was working to stop people crossing from Syria, after deadly unrest between Druze and Bedouin fighters.

"A short while ago, (Israeli) troops identified dozens of suspects attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from the area of Hader in Syria," a statement said, adding that soldiers and border police were "operating to prevent the infiltration".

A senior Hamas official on Wednesday rejected claims of progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, adding the Palestinian militant group had not received maps planning for Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.

"(Israel) has not yet delivered any new or revised maps regarding military withdrawals from the Gaza Strip," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas political bureau, told AFP, accusing Israel of wanting to "prolong military control" in Gaza for the long term.

Syria state media said that the Israeli military struck the Druze-majority city of Sweida, where Syrian government forces have deployed despite Israeli warnings.

"Israeli occupation drones target the city of Sweida," state-run SANA said.