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.

The United States said it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country.

“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.

Israel’s latest airstrikes in Syria are as much about preventing regime consolidation as they are about protecting the Druze minority.

STORY: Violence in southern Syria has put a spotlight on a small but influential minority, the Druze.:: Who are the Druze?The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam.They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century.

Israel’s demand for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria and its promise to protect the Druze minority are putting it in deepening conflict with the new regime in Damascus.

Syria’s interior ministry spokesperson stated on Friday that government forces were not prepared to redeploy to Sweida Province, according to the official news agency

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.