Israel struck a target near the presidential palace in the Syrian capital after the Druze community in both countries called for help following a series of violent clashes between the minority group and Syrian government forces.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on Telegram on Friday that its fighter jets hit an area close to the People’s Palace, which is perched on a hill overlooking Damascus. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

It was the second time this week Israel has conducted military action in and around Damascus, an extension of a wider offensive in Syria since President Ahmed Al-Sharaa overthrew long-time predecessor Bashar Assad in December. That’s part of a shift in Israeli defense policy to one of more aggression beyond the country’s borders, following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.

“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement after the strike. “We will not allow forces to be sent south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”

The Syrian president’s office called the attack “a dangerous escalation against the state’s institutions and its sovereignty.”

The Israeli operation came after a spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze minority called on international forces to protect his community after a wave of violence involving Sharaa’s forces left at least 70 people dead. The spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, had called on Netanyahu to intervene and was in touch with the prime minister directly, according to the Israeli leader’s office.

Sharaa, a one-time commander of a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda who took control of Syria after an uprising late last year, had assured international officials the country’s minorities would be protected following his rise to power, but the recent violence calls those statements into question. The Druze are, like most Syrians, ethnically Arab, but their faith is an offshoot of Islam.

“The recent violence and inflammatory rhetoric targeting members of the Druze community in Syria is reprehensible and unacceptable,” U.S. State Department Tammy Bruce said on Thursday. “The interim authorities must stop the fighting” and “hold perpetrators of violence and civilian harm accountable for their actions.”

The worst of this week’s clashes between Syrian government forces and the Druze were in Sahnaya, a town south of Damascus, and on the highway between the Syrian capital and the southern province of Suwayda, where the Druze are concentrated.

Israeli fighter jets struck a village southwest of Suwayda on Friday, killing four civilians, Syrian state media reported. Israel didn’t confirm the assault.

Syria’s official news agency said Friday that the standoff with the Druze community had ended and that agreements have been reached with local notables and elders. One agreement requires Druze in the Damascus district of Jaramana to hand over “heavy weapons,” while another allows government forces to be stationed outside the main city and towns in Suwayda.

“Both sides wanted to step back from the precipice but it’s a fragile agreement,” said Ahed Mourad, a Netherlands-based Druze activist and commentator.

Israel will watch closely as it continues to face pressure from its own sizeable Druze community to offer protection to their coreligionists in Syria. Members of the group blocked roads with blazing tires in northern Israel.

Israel has systematically bombed its neighbor’s military infrastructure since Assad’s fall and extended its territory in the area southwest of Damascus.

Saudi Arabia warned Friday that Israel’s actions are stoking “violence, extremism and regional instability.” Qatar, a key backer of Sharaa and his government, condemned Israel’s “naked aggression” on Syria.

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—With assistance from Dan Williams.

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