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

Israeli military responds to protect Syrian Druze from Islamist militants as local Druze citizens cross the border to aid their brethren, prompting concerns from Israeli officials.

The White House is attributing the outbreak of violence in the Middle East between the Syrian government and Israel to a "misunderstanding" over ethnic grudges.

In Syria's Druze-majority city of Sweida, residents said they have been living in terror since the arrival of government forces who have been carrying out what witnesses and a war monitor have

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.

Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.

Syrian officials and Druze leaders announce new ceasefire after days of fighting, following breakdown of previous truce.