Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. envoy Tom Barrack he's interested in negotiating with the new Syrian government, with the U.S. serving as mediator, Axios quoted two Israeli officials as saying.

Netanyahu is interested in negotiating an updated security deal and working up towards a full peace agreement, according to a senior Israeli official. These would be the first such talks between Israel and Syria since 2011, and would be particularly remarkable given recent history.

When former militant Ahmad al-Sharaa swept the Assad regime from power, Israel responded with waves of airstrikes that systematically destroyed what was left of the Syrian air force, navy, air defense and missile systems.

Israel also took control of the buffer zone between the countries and occupied territory inside Syria.

The Netanyahu government was highly concerned about the new Turkey-backed Syrian government, and lobbied the Trump administration to move cautiously in engaging with it.

The Israelis were shocked when Trump met with al-Sharaa last month in Saudi Arabia and announced the lifting of all U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria.