Clashes that shook southern Syria this week killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drew in an array of local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's yearslong 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.

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,

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.

Claims circulated that he was dead after a video appeared online of men in military attire taunting the 80-year-old. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Why did Israel stand up for the Druze in Syria? Russia benefits from Israeli intervention, because there are no former terrorists. The observer writes about the current situation in the Middle East Pravda.