The Economist explains

Who are the Druze, the victims of a deadly strike on Israel?

The religious minority has often been caught up in regional crossfire in the Middle East

Members of the Israeli Druze community at the holy tomb of Nabi Shoaib in northern Israel
Photograph: Getty Images

A ROCKET FLEW across Israel’s tense northern border on July 27th, and landed on a football pitch, killing 12 children and teenagers. Israel says that Hizbullah, a Lebanese militant group, is responsible; America agrees. Diplomats are now scrambling to avoid an all-out war between Israel and Hizbullah. One factor complicating the response is the fact that the victims were from Israel’s Druze minority. Who are the Druze—and why are they caught in the middle of a conflict between Israel and Lebanon?

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