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.

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.

After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city. A ceasefire overnight brought an end to ferocious fighting between Druze militia and government forces sent to the city to quell clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters.

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

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.

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.

Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to a war monitor.