Four days of clashes between pro-government gunmen and members of a minority sect in Syria have left nearly 100 people dead and raised fears of deadly sectarian violence.

The strikes were south of Damascus, where Syrian security forces say they are battling gunmen from the religious minority.

The Israeli army 'is deployed in southern Syria and is prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the area of Druze villages', the military said in a statement, without specifying whether this was a new deployment or elaborating on the number of troops on the ground.