Peace in the Middle East must wait a little longer still. Less than a month after wrapping up its airstrikes on Iran, the Israeli Air Force has escalated its airstrikes in Syria, hitting more than 160 targets since Tuesday night. The strikes came after the new Syrian regime sent forces into the southern Suwayda district to intervene in clashes between two minority groups, the Bedouins (nomadic Arab clans) and the Druze (an Islamic cult). Israel has insisted that the Suwayda region remain demilitarized, but its intervention also came at the behest of its own Druze minority.

Sporadic fighting between Bedouin and Druze militias in Suwayda broke out into open conflict earlier this week after a Bedouin gang assaulted a Druze merchant. In response, the Syrian government mobilized tanks and other heavy weaponry to restore order. Details are murky, but reports indicate that the Syrian army was firing artillery and mortar fire at the Druze-heavy city, as well as nearby villages. Irregular militias affiliated with the Syrian government also engaged in the conflict.

A London-based Syrian human rights observer recorded at least 250 deaths among all four combatant groups (Bedouin, Druze, Syrian army, and Syrian militias). The Druze have sustained the most casualties, suggesting the other religiously-aligned groups have teamed up against them.

Beginning on Monday, Israel bombed several Syrian tanks to warn Damascus against further intervention against the Druze. When that warning proved ineffective, Israel announced more extensive attacks. “The warnings in Damascus have ended — now painful blows will come,” announced Defense Minister Israel Katz. “The IDF will continue to operate forcefully in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until their complete withdrawal. Our Druze brothers in Israel, you can rely on the Israel Defense Forces to protect your brothers in Syria.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the IDF struck “tanks, rocket launchers, weapons, and pickup trucks loaded with heavy machine guns on their way to the Suwayda area in southern Syria. Additionally, routes were struck in order to block access to the area.” The IDF also struck targets in Damascus, including parts of “the Syrian regime’s military headquarters” and the presidential palace.

Meanwhile, Israeli Druze leaders were urging the IDF to intervene, and Israeli Druze showed up in force at the Israel-Syria border to go to their aid of their beleaguered brethren. While IDF border guards were busy repelling attempts to cross into Israel, an estimated 1,000 Israeli Druze broke through their security cordon, headed for Syria.

The heavy domestic pressure for intervention from Israel’s Druze population may explain why Israel ignored American pleas to avoid conflict with the Damascene regime. “We told the Israelis to stand down and take a breath,” an unnamed official told Axios. Trump administration officials are “very concerned” and “want the fighting to stop,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added.

President Trump is concerned that the Israeli airstrikes could jeopardize his efforts to work out a permanent peace deal between Syria and Israel, thereby building on the greatest foreign policy accomplishment of his first term by expanding the Abraham Accords. Syria’s president has expressed interest in such a deal, despite previous Israeli border incursions.

But Israel has expressed skepticism over whether such a deal will work. “Syria is making serious mistakes,” an Israeli official complained. “The legitimacy their regime recently received may be distorting their sense of reality. They would do well to wake up. This country has been torn apart from within for years, with external help, through endless war and bloodshed. What’s happening now is not helping them get to a better place.”

Besides domestic politics, Israel also had a security-related reason for its airstrikes. Since the new Syrian regime seized power, Israel has occupied the contested Golan Heights and has insisted that a certain zone of southern Syria remain demilitarized, for Israel’s security. “The State of Israel sees this as a test of its policy to demilitarize southern Syria and its commitment to the Druze,” an Israeli official said.

For his part, Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa has, at least officially, kept his hands clean. His government was “following the regrettable violations that have affected certain areas in the Suwayda district,” al-Sharaa announced. “Actions that fall within the framework of criminal behavior are unacceptable under no circumstances and are not consistent with the principles of the state. We confirm our full commitment to investigate all the events in Suwayda and to prosecute all those proven to be involved.”

After a brief period of fighting, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra announced a ceasefire in Suwayda “with the city’s notables and dignitaries,” although the IDF later announced additional airstrikes on armed vehicles heading toward the city. “The IDF continues to monitor developments and activities against the Druze civilians in southern Syria and … is prepared for various scenarios,” the IDF announced.

The situation remains tense, and the final chapter of the story remains to be written.