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.

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.

Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

That afternoon, Netanyahu and Katz ordered the Israeli military to once again attack government forces and weaponry in Suweida. They said they were working to prevent them from harming the Druze and to "ensure the demilitarisation" of areas near Israel's border.

Bedouin commander says ceasefire only applies to Damascus government, declares offensive with stated aim to free Bedouins held by Druze, after regime's retreat during IDF strikes

Syria’s Interior Ministry denied reports that its forces had entered the southern Druze-majority province of Suwayda to contain ongoing clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes, a state-owned Syrian TV reported on Friday,

Israel launched massive airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, as a response to apparent attacks against the Druze minorities in Sweida. Lina Sinjab with BBC News, a CBS News partner, has more.