The United States said on Thursday it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country and promised to protect its Druze minority.

Israel struck Damascus as Sweida faces deadly sectarian clashes between Druze, Sunni Bedouins and government forces.

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.

In Syria's Druze city of Sweida, sectarian violence has led to numerous deaths, with government forces clashing with Druze militia. The violence worsened after the government's arrival, deepening distrust of the Islamist-led government in Damascus.

Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland province of Sweida on orders from the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to

At least 203 people have been killed in sectarian fighting involving Sunni tribes, Druze militias and Syrian troops in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida since Sunday, a war monitor said

Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community.