Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Thursday that he had spoken directly to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on July 16 regarding the massacre of Druze civilians in Suweida.

The full exchange, as published by i24NEWS, was as follows:

Netanyahu: I want to be brief. Apparently the message via the mediators didn’t get through properly. A genocide is being committed against the Druze. By 10 p.m. your forces must withdraw from Suweida.

Al-Sharaa: I had hoped our conversation would go differently.

Netanyahu: I’m calling on you to withdraw your forces, or we will intensify our strikes.

Al-Sharaa: I need 48 hours.

Netanyahu: That’s unacceptable. Withdraw the forces first.

Indeed, later that same day, the Israeli Air Force struck the headquarters of the Syrian Defense Ministry and the area near the Syrian presidential palace. These strikes followed others that the Israeli military had conducted since July 13 in support of the Druze community in Syria that was under attack by Syrian forces.