The Israeli military said it launched strikes against Syrian military positions in the southern Sweida province to defend Druze civilians against alleged attacks by Damascus.

The strikes targeted Syrian military headquarters and weapons across several army camps, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.

“In response to the attacks against the Druze population in the Suwaida region: The Israeli army is attacking Syrian regime infrastructure in southern Syria,” the IDF said in a statement, using an alternate spelling of Sweida.

The IDF added that Israel will “not allow harm to come to the Druze” in southern Syria and is monitoring major developments in the region, implying that it may be the first of many similar strikes.

Details of the attack that apparently sparked the Israeli military response remain vague and unverified. Druze militia leadership in Sweida province asserted in a statement on Thursday that nine people were killed following an alleged attack from the Syrian internal security forces. Heavily armed Druze paramilitary forces were seen rushing into Sweida province following the attacks.

Druze leadership also says 12 people were detained at local checkpoints and seven more Druze civilians were abducted. Casualties from the incident also remain unclear.

Damascus has not issued a formal statement on the alleged attack, and the incident has not been widely reported in local Syrian media. 

The alleged attack is the latest in a long-running conflict between Druze minority members in Sweida and the new Syrian government in Damascus, run by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Sweida province was the site of brutal fighting last summer between Syrian government forces, local Benouin tribes and Druze militia. The Israeli military intervened at the tail end of that conflict as well, striking at Syrian military positions in Syria and Damascus.