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.

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.

President Ahmed al-Shara said the attack threatened to escalate sectarian violence in his sharpest criticism of Israel since coming to power.

Following the Israeli strikes on Syria' capital, Damascus, our verification specialists are assessing the damage A fire that tore through a shopping centre in the Iraqi city of Kut has left dozens dead,

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.

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.

Israeli Druze breached the Israel-Syria border fence in the Golan Heights and walked towards Syria on July 16after local calls to help Druze in Syria after a surge in violence in the neighbouring country.

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.