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Israel’s air force launched a strike early on Friday near Syria’s presidential palace in a warning for the Syrian government to stop attacks on the country’s Druze minority.

The military intervention came as dozens of people have been killed in clashes between pro-government forces and Druze militias near the capital Damascus.

Fighting broke out earlier this week after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticising Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric, but the new Syrian government — led by the former al-Qaeda affiliate Ahmed al-Sharaa — has confirmed that the man was not involved.

Israel’s strike on Friday was the second time the country has intervened in Syria this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the move on Friday was a direct warning to the Syrian authorities. 

“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow a withdrawal of forces from south of Damascus or any danger to the Druze community,” they said in a joint statement.

State-affiliated Syrian media reported that the strike landed near the People’s Palace, situated on a hill overlooking the capital.

After Israeli strikes south of Damascus on Wednesday, the Syrian government hit out at what it called “foreign intervention” in its country.

On Thursday, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, the Druze’s spiritual leader in Syria, condemned the Syrian government’s actions against the minority population.

However, the Druze religious leadership stressed that their community is part of Syria.

“We confirm our commitment to a country that includes all Syrians, a nation that is free of strife,” they said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 56 people, including local armed fighters and security forces, were killed in the Sahnaya area and in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus with a significant Druze population.

The Druze are a religious minority whose faith originated as a branch of Shiite Islam. 

Of the approximately one million Druze globally, over half reside in Syria, with many living in the southern province of Sweida and the outskirts of Damascus.

Significant Druze communities also live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights — territory Israel seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War and formally annexed in 1981.

Al-Sharaa’s government has promised to protect religious minorities since ousting the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.

However, this pledge was called into question after hundreds of civilians from Assad’s Alawite sect were killed in March in western Syria.