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U.S. presses for de‑escalation after Israeli strikes in Syria; calls for withdrawals
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Summary
At a State Department briefing, spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. is pressing all parties to de‑escalate after Israeli strikes in Syria, calling for Israeli and Syrian withdrawals from the affected area and describing the incident as a "misunderstanding" the administration is working to resolve.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters the United States was working with all parties to de‑escalate after Israeli strikes in Syria and that U.S. officials were seeking withdrawals by both Israeli and Syrian forces from the affected area. "We are calling on the Syrian government to, in fact, withdraw their military in order to enable all sides to deescalate and find a path forward," Bruce said.
Bruce said Secretary Rubio described the situation as "complicated" and used the word "misunderstanding" to characterize recent exchanges between Israeli and Syrian forces. She said the president and the secretary expected "deescalation as soon as possible" and that the administration hoped to see "some real progress" "in the next few hours." The spokesperson also confirmed U.S. engagement with both sides and said the special envoy to Syria, Ambassador Barrack, and other senior officials were involved in diplomacy to reduce tensions.
Why it matters: strikes in and near Damascus risk wider regional escalation and could complicate ongoing U.S. diplomacy in Syria, where Washington has engaged on reconstruction, sanctions waivers and political arrangements with a newly forming Syrian authority. Protecting minority communities was raised repeatedly; Bruce said Israeli forces intervened "to protect the Druze," a point she said the U.S. could confirm.
Administration officials declined to characterize the legitimacy of specific Israeli targets. When asked whether the U.S. considered strikes on the Syrian presidential palace or Syrian military headquarters to be legitimate military targets, Bruce said she would not comment on how Israel makes target decisions and directed questions to the Israeli government. She said the U.S. focus at the time of the briefing was stopping the escalation and facilitating de‑escalation.
The briefing also referenced U.S. work to stabilize Syria more broadly. Bruce said the special envoy had been "very open" about discussions on disarmament and stabilization, and she described U.S. efforts to allow investments and reconstruction as part of a strategy to help Syrians across communities return to regular life. She repeated that statements from the secretary and the president indicated optimism that the incident could be resolved through diplomacy.
The spokesperson said further statements could come from the president and Secretary Rubio as events developed and that the administration was actively engaged in urgent diplomatic outreach.
