Israel allows Syrian troops into Sweida, Netanyahu calls Pope after church strike

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 and around Syria's Druze city of Sweida.

"In light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours," the official, who declined to be named, told reporters.

Syria's interior ministry spokesperson said on Friday its forces were not preparing to redeploy to Sweida Province, the state news agency reported.

Syrian troops withdrew from Sweida after a truce was announced on Wednesday, but clashes resumed late on Thursday between fighters from Bedouin tribes and the Druze, who are part of a religious minority in Syria that has followers in Lebanon and Israel.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights monitoring group said it had documented 254 dead in four days of fighting, among them medical personnel, women and children.

The head of the UN human rights office urged Syria's interim authorities to ensure accountability justice for what it said are credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting, including summary executions and kidnappings, the office said in a statement.

At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on July 15 when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day.

The UN refugee agency on Friday urged all sides to allow humanitarian access, which it said had been curtailed by the violence.

Netanyahu calls Pope Leo after Gaza church strike

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called Pope Leo on Friday, the Vatican said, a day after an Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic church killed three people and injured several more.

During the call, the pope renewed his appeal for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza, and expressed his concern over the "dramatic" humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, a Vatican statement said.

Leo also stressed the urgent need to protect places of worship, the faithful, and all people in the Palestinian territories and Israel, the statement added.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday to comfort victims of the church strike and bring humanitarian aid.

In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza "whatever happens," and expressed doubts about Israel's comments that the strike was a mistake.

"We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't," the cardinal said.

Netanyahu on Thursday blamed "stray ammunition" and said his country was "investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites."

It is extremely rare for foreign officials to be allowed entry into Gaza, as Israel has essentially sealed its borders. Pizzaballa was accompanied by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The two religious leaders brought "hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment," Pizzaballa's Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.