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.

Damascus believed it had tacit approval to restore control in Sweida; Israeli airstrikes followed reports of troop abuses, as U.S. mediation helped broker a limited ceasefire.