Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the coun

The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce halted most of the fighting.

Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

Syrian state-run media say Israel carried out an air strike near Syria's southern Druze-majority city of Suweida late on Thursday.The Sana news agency is reporting that "Israeli occupation aircraft carried out a raid on the outskirts" of the city,

Israel struck Syrian military targets and central Damascus as it continued its campaign to protect Druze minority communities in southern Syria.

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins.