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.

BEIRUT (Reuters) -One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida,

Israeli Druze breached the Israel-Syria border fence in the Golan Heights and walked towards Syria on July 16after local calls to help Druze in Syria after a surge in violence in the neighbouring country.

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting Druze citizens and their rights is "our priority", as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria.

Deadly sectarian clashes in Syria eased Thursday, after a ceasefire was announced between groups fighting in the Druze-majority southern province and Israel signaled air strikes over recent days were suspended.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced Wednesday a renewed ceasefire after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country’s postwar political transition and have drawn intervention by Syria’s powerful neighbor, Israel.