Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.

Clashes broke out over the weekend between Druze forces and Bedouin tribes in the southern city of Suwayda, leaving 30 people dead and injuring dozens more. The violence prompted an intervention by the Syrian government, which lost eighteen of its soldiers in the clashes.

Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze in Syria, launched strikes against Syrian forces advancing towards Suwayda.

The Druze are an Arab sect of roughly one million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In southern Syria, where the Druze form a majority in Suwayda province, the community was at times caught between the forces of the Assad regime and extremist groups during the country’s long conflict.

“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.