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 country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.

He credited the United States, the Gulf States, and Turkey for mediating a ceasefire. The Syrian president then attempted to spin the Syrian withdrawal as planned, saying, “We are assigning local factions and tribal leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in Suwayda … based on the supreme national interest.”

WASHINGTON: The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, the State Department said on Thursday (July 17), as Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

The White House is attributing the outbreak of violence in the Middle East between the Syrian government and Israel to a "misunderstanding" over ethnic grudges.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.