Israel hit Damascus with powerful airstrikes on Wednesday, ostensibly to “protect” Syria’s Druze minority which has borne the brunt of ongoing sectarian clashes in the country.

Syria's new government grappled with deadly clashes in the southern part of the country over the past week between local Bedouin fighters and militias linked to the Druze minority people. Then, Syrian government forces intervened in the region,

“The Israeli Druze are now trying to use that and urge the Israeli government to protect fellow Druze in Syria,” he said, explaining, in part, the justification for Israel’s strikes on Syria, where the Druze community has traditionally been anti-Israel, even as some leaders grow closer to Israel.