TEL AVIV — The burgeoning ties between Israel and Syria encountered a hurdle this week with the eruption of deadly sectarian clashes in southern Syria followed by Israeli military intervention.

On Monday Israeli tanks attacked a Syrian armored column in the Druze-majority southern Syrian province of Suwayda. The strikes took place as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, were both in Brussels for the EU–Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the EU and partners in the Mideast and North Africa. It is unclear whether the two spoke or if any meeting was arranged. 

Israeli intervention

The Syrian tanks were making their way to Suwayda in response to fighting between the country’s Bedouin and Druze minorities, allegedly in a bid to restore calm. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Monday evening local time that the death toll of the clashes between the Bedouin and the Druze had reached at least 99 people, adding that there was evidence that Syrian troops were helping the Bedouin Sunni tribes. The UK-based war monitor said 60 of those killed were Druze from Suwayda, along with 18 members of Bedouin tribes, 14 Syrian soldiers and seven unidentified individuals.