A Syrian Druze woman living in the United Arab Emirates frantically tried to keep in touch with her family in her hometown in southern Syria as clashes raged there over the past days. Her mother, father and sister sent videos of their neighbors fleeing as fighters moved in.

Syrian government forces largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country's postwar transition.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday attacked the entrance to the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the Damascus area in response to reports of atrocities against local Druze residents.

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

In March, government forces were involved in a killing spree on the Syrian coast that left dead about 1,600 people, mostly from the Alawite minority, according to the Observatory. Another outbreak of violence just outside Damascus in May killed more than 100 people, mostly from the Druse minority.

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

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.

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.