Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

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.

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.

Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives they had never seen before.

A view of a destroyed building, after powerful airstrikes shook Damascus on Wednesday, targeting the defense ministry, as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze communities in southern Syria and demanded their withdrawal,

Syria says it is withdrawing troops from the southern city of Suwayda after days of deadly clashes with the minority Arab Druze community that triggered military action from Israel. CNN’s Becky Anderson speaks to a Syrian Druze and an Israeli Druze to discuss the differing views on the matter.