Badly needed humanitarian supplies started to reach Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province on Sunday, a day after a ceasefire was announced following a week of sectarian fighting that left hundreds dead,

Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives they had never seen before.

Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouins against the Druze were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence also drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before a truce was reached.

STORY: Violence in southern Syria has put a spotlight on a small but influential minority, the Druze.:: Who are the Druze?The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam.They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century.

Members of Syria's Druze community are searching for loved ones and counting their dead after days of clashes in a southern province that left bloodied bodies of civilians on the streets and homes looted.

Israeli leaders said they launched attacks on Syria this week to protect members of the Druze religious group in the country’s south, amid clashes in the area.

Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

The United States said it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country.

Around 940 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in week-long violence in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida, a war monitor reported on Saturday, amid renewed sectarian fighting despite a ceasefire announcement.