Nearly 600 killed in sectarian clashes in Syria’s Sweida as troops withdraw under pressure, Israeli strikes and US-led mediation avert wider escalation.

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.

On Monday and Wednesday, Israel launched waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed

A deadly wave of clashes in Syria's Sweida region has spilled over into Israel, where the IDF is now striking targets, claiming to protect the Druze minority. Hundreds have gathered at the Golan Heights amid panic and demands for cross-border reunions.

After five days of hunkering down at his home in the southern city of Sweida, 33-year-old Hossam emerged on Thursday and drove around to survey the damage. Wherever he went, the smell of death lingered.

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday, after U.S. intervention helped end deadly fighting between government forces and Druze fighters in the south.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.