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.

Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke after Israel said it would destroy government forces it accused of attacking Druze in Syria.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday after U.S. intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters.

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.

Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Druze occupy a special niche in the region's complex politics. Israel has cited protecting the Druze as a reason for attacking forces from the Islamist-led government this week.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s Druze on Thursday called for the opening of a route to connect them with the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), as recent attacks by Damascus-affiliated forces on the religious minority in Suwayda have triggered a dire humanitarian

WASHINGTON: The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, the State Department said on Thursday (July 17), as Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel

Syria says it is withdrawing troops from the southern city of Suwayda after days of deadly clashes with the minority Arab Druze community that triggered military action from Israel. CNN’s Becky Anderson speaks to a Syrian Druze and an Israeli Druze to discuss the differing views on the matter.