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,

Israel said it bombed the headquarters of Syria’s army in the capital Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced Wednesday a renewed ceasefire after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country’s postwar political transition and have drawn intervention by Syria’s powerful neighbor, Israel.