JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s military said on Friday it had struck Syrian army camps in response to what it called attacks against the Druze community in the southern Sweida province.

The latest flare-up between the neighboring countries comes as war roils the Middle East after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

“Overnight, the IDF struck a headquarters and weapons at Syrian regime military camps in southern Syria,” the Israeli military said.

“This was in response to yesterday’s events, in which Druze civilians were attacked in the (Sweida) area. The IDF will not allow harm to come to Druze in Syria and will continue to act for their protection.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported on Thursday that clashes broke out between government forces and fighters from local tribes against opposing Druze factions in the western countryside of Sweida province.

The fighting began after mortar shells fell on areas under the control of Druze factions.

The shelling later hit residential neighborhoods in the city of Sweida, sowing panic and fear among residents, the Observatory said.

Syrian state media did not mention the clashes or Israel’s airstrikes.

Last July, thousands of people were estimated to have been killed when clashes erupted between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Sweida province.

The Syrian government said its forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses and monitors accused them of siding with the Bedouin.

Israel, which is also home to a Druze community, bombed Syrian government forces during the clashes, saying it was acting to defend the minority and enforce its own demands for south Syria’s demilitarization.

Under US pressure, Israel and Syria in January agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism, in an unprecedented step aimed at ending decades of hostility.

After the overthrow of Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel moved its forces into the United Nations-patrolled demilitarized zone on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria as well as regular incursions.