Benjamin Netanyahu stunned: "I picked up the phone to al-Julani, it was a very sharp conversation"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he spoke by phone with Syria's president, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and that the call brought a halt to a massacre of Druze in the country. The remarks were made at a conference of the Druze community. Netanyahu added that he would act to protect "our brothers" and return Syrian hostages to their homes, but that he cannot tell everything.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed at a conference of the Druze community that he spoke by phone with Syria's president, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and that the call brought a halt to a massacre of Druze in the country. "I picked up the phone to al-Julani, it was a very short, very sharp conversation. And the massacre stopped," Netanyahu said. He added: "I will do everything necessary to protect our brothers, your brothers and our brothers. We will not let the massacre continue, and they (the Syrian hostages) must also be returned to their homes, there is more work to do. I cannot tell everything. But this commitment comes from the depths of the soul." The article notes that al-Julani took control of Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad, and maintains close ties with Turkey. Further in the article it is reported on Saudi contacts to send Syrian soldiers to Yemen, between 10,000 and 20,000, as part of a ground offensive against the Houthis. The 90th and 84th Divisions are being examined for participation in the operation. The contacts take place against the backdrop of a broad ground offensive by Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, aimed at restoring control over territories including the capital Sanaa and the Bab al-Mandab strait.