Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

More than 100 demonstrators from Canada's Druze community gathered on Parliament Hill on Friday afternoon, asking for the government to intervene in an unfolding humanitarian crisis in Syria where hundreds have already been killed.

Republican congressman and Israel caucus co-chair Joe Wilson rebukes Israeli military strikes on Syria, calling them insulting to Trump's recent diplomatic efforts in the region.

U.S.-based firms Baker Hughes , Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a masterplan for Syria's oil, gas and power sector, Argent LNG CEO Jonathan Bass said on Friday, in a partnership aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure shattered by 14 years of civil war.

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Renewed clashes broke out overnight into Friday between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria.

The U.N. said on Friday (July 19) it had received "credible" reports of "widespread violations and abuses" as well as continuing clashes in Sweida, after days of bloodshed in and around the predominantly Druze city in southern Syria. Zachary Goelman produced this report.

An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."

The UN human rights chief says his office has received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, during the recent violence in the southern city of Suweida.