Khalidi and Maya Gebeily DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (Reuters) -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,

Syria’s president declared a ceasefire after nearly a week of sectarian bloodshed in the south, but civilians said there was no let-up in the violence.

Smoke rose from burning houses in south Syria's Sweida on Saturday and an Arab tribal fighter vowed to "slaughter" residents as deadly clashes with Druze fighters persisted.Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire,