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,

The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition.

While strategic considerations were still in play, the heart of the decision lay in defending the extended family of Israel’s own Druze—a gesture shaped as much by kinship as by security. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria over the past decade,

Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif warns of ‘genocide’ in Syria’s south, says US silence could fuel more attacks on minorities - Anadolu Ajansı

Syria should not be allowed back into the international community unless it is able to uphold protections for the Druze and its other minority groups, Israel has said.

Secretary of State Rubio says the U.S. is "very concerned" by expanding Israeli strikes targeting Syria's new government, and he wants "the fighting to stop."

The United States said it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country.

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

Armed Bedouin clans have withdrawn from the Druze-majority Syrian city of Sweida after a week of deadly clashes.

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.