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 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.

The United States said on Thursday 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 and promised to protect its Druze minority.

The plots have largely preyed on economically vulnerable Israelis with relatively weak social ties. In one high-profile case, police arrested two young men in Tiberias on June 15, according to the Times of Israel. The two were each promised $60,000 to assassinate a top Israeli scientist.

In Syria, violence continued between rival factions even after a ceasefire deal. Government troops withdrew overnight from a region as Israel said it would not allow Syrian forces south of Damascus, extending its attempted control of the area.

The State Department condemned recent Israeli strikes in Syria, and Secretary Marco Rubio announced a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Syria to end immediate violence.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.

For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

The Israeli leader has been alienating his allies and is spiraling toward early elections.

Slovenia declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata on Thursday, the first European Union country to do so, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.