More than a thousand people are believed to have been killed in a week of fighting in Syria 's Sweida, even as an uneasy truce reigned across the governorate on Sunday. Humanitarian convoys were readying to enter Sweida to ease the impact of days of sectarian violence that broke out last weekend between Syrian Bedouin, Druze and government forces.

The Druze religious sect, enmeshed in an outbreak of tit-for-tat violence in Syria, began roughly 1,000 years ago as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel,

Sectarian clashes have intensified in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida, highlighting challenges faced by the Islamist-led government. Despite efforts to restore peace, violence between Druze and Bedouin tribes continues,

While the Syrian Druze community might not stand with Israel, experts say that Jerusalem has an obligation to protect them against malevolent forces from within President Ahmed Al-Sharaa's camp.

"Silence and standing idly by are no longer an option,” Druze leader Sheikh Mowafak Tarif wrote. Israel's Druze spiritual leadership called on its community to prepare to assist their Syrian counterparts “by all means necessary,

Israel says it's trying to protect the Druze community in south-west Syria, where there have been deadly sectarian clashes.

Syria's foreign ministry has accused Israel of bearing full responsibility for recent military actions in southern Syria. The ministry emphasized its commitment to protecting all Syrian citizens, including the Druze minority.

Israel stepped up its attacks on regime targets in Syria for the third consecutive day on Wednesday in what it said was an effort to protect the Druze community in southern Syria, after reports that hundreds of residents had been killed in clashes with Bedouin gunmen and Syrian government forces over recent days.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 58,667 people and wounded 139,974, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.