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.

Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority.

Syrian government forces have fully withdrawn from violence-hit Sweida province following days of bloodshed. This comes after Syria's Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said that Druze is an integral part of Syria and denounced Israel’s actions as sowing division.

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.

An AFP photographer counted 15 bodies on the street in the centre of Sweida today after government forces pulled out. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said more than 370 people have been killed in sectarian clashes in the city since Sunday.

"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,