Fighting has flared once again in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, where Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes have resumed hostilities, local reports said Friday, one day after government troops reportedly withdrew from the area.
The Syrian Interior Ministry denied reports that security forces were being redeployed to Suwayda to contain the violence, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
The renewed unrest in Syria coincides with a surge in deadly violence in the Gaza Strip. On Friday, an Israeli strike on makeshift tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the southern coastal area of al-Mawasi sparked a large fire, killing at least five people, including children, according to local health officials.
Since dawn, at least 26 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a series of Israeli airstrikes, including six individuals reportedly seeking food aid.
International condemnation continues to mount over Israel’s deadly strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church compound, which killed three people and injured at least 10. Vatican officials have denounced the attack, calling it “an assault on humanitarian sanctuary.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry says that at least 58,667 Palestinians have been killed and more than 139,900 wounded since Israel launched its military campaign in response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. That assault left roughly 1,139 people dead in Israel and over 200 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader regional instability have fueled growing calls for a cease-fire and a renewed diplomatic push to address long-standing grievances.
