Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to "prepare to defend" the Druze-majority town of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria, The Times of Israel reports.
A statement issued by Katz's office said the Damascus suburb "is currently under attack by Syrian regime forces."
According to reports from Syria, the new Syrian government has clashed with local Druze armed men during a security campaign in Jaramana. At least one Syrian soldier was killed, while another was captured and later released.
"We will not allow the extreme Islamist regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be hit by us," Katz said. We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all necessary steps to preserve their safety," he added.
The Druze are an Arab Muslim community that mainly inhabits the countries of the Middle East.
We recall that last week Israel hit parts of Syria - Damascus and the southern province of Daraa.
The bombing came hours after Syria condemned Israel's invasion of the southern part of the country and demanded its withdrawal, according to the final statement of a national summit.
Netanyahu called for the complete demilitarization of much of southern Syria. This could make conflict between Israel and the new leadership in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad more likely.
Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces - the Islamist group that led the ouster of Assad - nor the new Syrian army that is being formed - to "enter the area south of Damascus".
He also said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in the Syrian territory they seized after Assad's fall last December - a shift in Israeli strategy.
Until now, Israel has described its move into a UN-monitored demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights as a temporary measure to ensure the security of Israelis on the other side.
The rationale appeared to be to prevent extremist groups from moving down into the Golan Heights in the wake of the Syrian government's vacuum.
But with his recent comments, Netanyahu has made it clear that he believes the new authorities in Syria - with their jihadism - could pose a similar danger.