Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southern Syria, saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.

Israel has threatened to increase its involvement in Syria and vowed to protect the Druze religious minority, which began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam, the Associated Press reported. Most of the world’s Druze population lives in Syria, with the rest predominantly in Israel and Lebanon.