Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

The Israeli military launched Wednesday a rare airstrike in the heart of Damascus, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters as clashes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida continued to flare.

Israel said it bombed Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland where a monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

Clashes between Druze fighters and pro-government forces in Syria have intensified into a violent urban assault, leaving scores dead, in some of the worst fighting involving the religious minority. Backed by tribal militias and extremist factions,

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins.

All of these points point to a possibility of spillover. Israel has managed the Syrian conflict for the last decade and a half since it began in 2011. Sometimes there were clashes along the border. For instance, Druze men lynched two Syrians who were being brought to the hospital in 2015.

The Israel Defense Forces, which announced the strike on the gates of the facility, said it is also hitting southern Syria and is “prepared for various scenarios.”

The IDF on Wednesday attacked the Syrian Military HQ and Presidential Palace, responding to a resurgence in fighting between Druze groups and Syrian state forces in Sweida, Southern Syria. Israel has declared that the actions are on military targets and are being done to protect the minority-Druze community.

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In a direct message to the Druze community of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged restraint and warned against crossing into Syrian territory, amid escalating violence in the southwestern Syrian city of Sweida.

Members of the Druze community have faced humiliation and massacres at the hands of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's regime, Attorney Raad Shanan, Director-General of the Druze Community Council, said in an interview with 103FM on Wednesday.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.