Israel sent 10,000 food packages to Druze in Syria in recent weeks, the Foreign Ministry says.Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who is credited by his office with initiating the effort, says the packages are part of a pact between minority communities in the Middle East.

The head of the Druze community in Israel on Thursday hailed plans for the first visit by a Druze religious delegation from Syria in five decades, despite escalating cross-border tensions underscored by an Israeli airstrike on Damascus.

"In an operation conducted over the past few weeks, 10,000 packages of humanitarian aid were thus far delivered to the Druze community in the battle areas of Syria," the foreign ministry said in a statement.