Jerusalem [Israel] May 29 (ANI/TPS): A field hospital set up by the Israel Defense Forces near the southern Syrian village of Hader has treated more than 500 Syrian civilians in recent weeks, the IDF said on Wednesday.

'The facility is designed to provide medical assistance and support the Syrian-Druze population in the area,' the IDF said.

Sectarian tensions in Syria are high as Islamic gunmen linked to Sharaa's regime killed around 100 Druze in clashes. In a bid to protect the Druze, Israel launched warning strikes on Syria and threatened to hit targets belonging to the Turkish-backed regime.

Israel's Druze community of 152,000 has been calling on the government to take stronger measures to protect their co-religionists in southern Syria. Around 40,000 Druze live in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Da'ara and Sweida under Israeli protection. Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

The announcement comes one day after Reuters reported that Israel and Syria have been holding face-to-face talks, the first direct contact between the two countries. One analyst told The Press Service of Israel that this development was 'important and positive.'

Israeli officials have not commented on the report.

Asked about the likely outcome of the talks, Prof. Eyal Zisser said, 'The situation along the border will remain quiet and maybe the two sides will reach deeper and wider understandings for security along the border and coordination. This is very positive and very promising.'

Zisser is Chair of Tel Aviv University's Department for Middle Eastern and African History.

However, he cautioned, 'People do not always have control on the ground. And the situation cannot continue forever. Syria wants Israel to withdraw from its territory. They won't accept the status quo forever. And they want us to come back to the 1974 border.'

Israel's Druze community of 152,000 has been calling on the government to take stronger measures to protect their co-religionists in southern Syria. Around 40,000 Druze live in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Da'ara and Sweida under Israeli protection. Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

The Druze trace their ancestry back to the Biblical figure Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. In Israel, the Druze serve in senior positions in public and military life, and the bond between Jewish and Druze soldiers is referred to as the 'covenant of blood.' The Druze speak Arabic but are not Muslim.

Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed in December. Israel also launched waves of airstrikes on Syrian army assets and Iranian stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical Islamists.

While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone in the past, December's takeover marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The demilitarized zone was established with a ceasefire in 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur War.

Israel considers the 1974 ceasefire agreement void until order is restored in Syria. (ANI/TPS)