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.

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.

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, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.

While some Druze leaders have urged accommodation with Damascus, others have come out strongly against Sharaa, notably Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, who urged resistance to government forces and appealed to world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during this week's violence.

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

A fresh wave of deadly sectarian violence has rocked Syria, highlighting the country's fragile security landscape.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

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.