The Druze, an ethnoreligious minority in the Levant region, began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. The religion is roughly 1 million strong, and more than half of that population is estimated to live in Syria, typically in the south, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel also said it was carrying out many more attacks in Sweida city, hitting Syrian soldiers and military buildings there.

Israeli leaders said they launched attacks on Syria this week to protect members of the Druze religious group in the country’s south, amid clashes in the area.