In Syria's city of Sweida, clashes between government forces and Druze groups have intensified after a ceasefire collapse. Israel has started airstrikes in support of the Druze minority, impacting Syrian military operations.

The Syrian government deployed its forces in the Druze-majority city of Sweida, in a bid by the Islamist authorities to extend their power to the area controlled by local armed groups.

A sudden spike in regional tensions has gripped the Middle East as Israel strikes Syria, a fragile ceasefire collapses in Sweida, and Iran's Khamenei issues a sharp warning to the US and Israel., Middle East,

Dozens of wounded and dead arrived at a hospital in Al-Mazraa in Syria's southern Sweida province on Tuesday following clashes between local militias, clans and government forces.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

The Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida's residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups,

Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city on Tuesday following two days of clashes, the first time government forces have deployed to Sweida since the new government took power.

Loud gunfire and smoke were seen and heard over Sweida in southern Syria on Tuesday, after the defence minister announced a ceasefire following the entry of government forces into a key city in the province.