TEL AVIV — Israel Air Force jets conducted a rare airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus in the early hours of Friday, avoiding casualties but further warning the Syrian leadership about harming the country’s Druze minority.

"This is a clear message to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa," a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We can reach him. He has sole responsibility for the safety of the Druze in Syria. Israel will not hesitate to defend the Druze in Syria even if it means military intervention. We will not allow a massacre of the Druze, and we will not allow extremist groups to take advantage of the new situation and harm them."

With a population of 152,000 Druze in 2024, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel regards itself as a guardian of this esoteric sect, whose members are conscripted by the Israeli armed forces. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir have all issued statements in recent days warning Syria’s new Islamist leadership against harming the Druze.

Clashes this week between pro-government Syrian forces and Syrian Druze militants have resulted in dozens of fatalities, prompting accusations of genocide by the community's leaders. Two months ago, Syrian forces aligned with the new government killed roughly 1,600 civilians in the Syrian coastal region, mostly members of the minority Alawite community, to which the deposed, long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad belonged.