Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

The Druze of Syria—numbering under one million—have historically maintained a delicate balance between cooperation and quiet resistance to the Assad regime. Suwayda has been one of the few regions to avoid full-scale regime control during the civil war. However, recent economic protests and growing demands for autonomy have made it a flashpoint.