The attack follows a wave of Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces during two days of sectarian clashes between local Druze and Bedouin populations.

"This flagrant assault, which forms part of a deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, spread chaos, and undermine security and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law," it added.

Clashes between Bedouin tribal fighters, caretaker government forces and Druze militias stretched into their fourth day in Sweida on Wednesday while Israeli forces struck the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Sharaa has called on the Sunni Bedouin tribes to fully adhere to the ceasefire, aimed at halting deadly confrontations with Druze-affiliated militias that have claimed hundreds of lives and put the country’s fragile post-conflict transition at risk.

Steps taken by the state in Suwayda were aimed at protecting civilians and preventing the conflict from escalating further,' says Hamza al-Mustafa - Anadolu Ajansı

Syria begins withdrawing army from Suwayda, but Israel vows to continue to ‘operate vigorously’ in Druze-majority city.

Church in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, smashed Christian symbols, and set fire to its ceiling and walls.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Israel says it is intervening to protect Syria’s Druze residents who have strong ties to Israel’s Druze community. Damascus called the attack a violation of sovereignty.

Members of Syrian security forces walk on a road in Sweida countryside, as vehicles transporting other Syrian security forces make their way out of the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 16,