(Reuters) -Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority. Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as "complicated" but said it looked like a "misunderstanding".

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and an area near the presidential palace.

Bodies were brought to a hospital in Gaza City after the latest Israeli strikes on the area killed 22 people, including 11 children and three women, according to health officials.

Ireland appears closer to passing a bill that will ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in occupied territories in the West Bank, sparking sharp criticism from US officials who have signaled the move could harm Dublin’s relationship with Washington.

Israel threatened to escalate attacks on Syrian government forces unless they withdraw from the southern province of Sweida, which is dominated by the country’s Druse minority.

At least 20 people have been killed in an incident in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel and US-backed organisation.

When the sirens wail in the southern Israeli desert to herald an incoming missile, Ahmad Abu Ganima’s family scrambles outside.