Members of the Druze community in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights gathered at the border with Syria Thursday morning, anxious to be reunited with their families who crossed into Syria on Wednesday.

In recent months, the IDF thwarted several attempts to transfer tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to the Syrian Golan region.

Army says there were no further crossings overnight, is working to patch up holes in fence; Kurdish official urges Sharaa to rethink approach to minorities

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.

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority

He credited the United States, the Gulf States, and Turkey for mediating a ceasefire. The Syrian president then attempted to spin the Syrian withdrawal as planned, saying, “We are assigning local factions and tribal leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in Suwayda … based on the supreme national interest.”

More than 1,000 Israeli Druze crossed the Syrian border to defend their community, and many want Israel to launch a military operation. Several Israeli ministers have issued inflammatory statements against the new Syrian regime led by former jihadist Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.