Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatened on Saturday evening to intervene militarily in Syria against Damascus forces "if the regime harms the Druze."

"We will not allow the extremist terrorist regime in Syria to harm the Druze," Katz said in a statement issued by his ministry, according to Agence France-Presse.

He added: "If the regime attacks the Druze, it will bear consequences from us. We have ordered the army to prepare and send a clear and strict warning: If the regime harms the Druze, we will harm it."

One person was killed and nine others were injured on Saturday in clashes between security personnel affiliated with the new Syrian government and local Druze gunmen in the Jaramana suburb near Damascus, against the backdrop of tension that began on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The majority of Druze and Christians, as well as families displaced during the years of war that Syria has been witnessing since 2011, live in the Jaramana suburb, located southeast of Damascus.

One of the first areas where residents toppled a bust of his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, on December 7, the eve of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, was in a main square bearing his name.

The Observatory reported that “one person was killed and nine others were injured from the Jaramana area during clashes between security personnel affiliated with the new authority and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area.” The Observatory was unable to determine whether the dead person was a civilian or a local gunman.

The region is witnessing tension that began on Friday with the killing of a member of the security forces and the wounding of another as a result of gunfire from gunmen at a checkpoint in Jaramana, following a quarrel between the two sides, according to the observatory.

The official Syrian news agency SANA quoted the director of the Damascus Countryside Security Directorate, Lieutenant Colonel Hussam al-Tahhan, on Saturday as saying that the checkpoint on Friday stopped members of the Ministry of Defense as they were entering the area to visit relatives. After they handed over their weapons, they were beaten “before their car was targeted with direct gunfire,” killing one member and wounding another.

Following this, local gunmen attacked a police station in Jaramana, and the officers were expelled from it, according to Tahan, who confirmed the continuation of “our efforts in cooperation with dignitaries in the city of Jaramana to pursue all those involved in the shooting incident,” warning of the repercussions of similar incidents on “the security, stability, and unity of Syria.”

Later, the sheikhs of Jaramana issued a statement in which they confirmed “lifting the cover from all offenders and outlaws,” and pledged to hand over anyone “proven to be responsible” to “the competent authority so that he may receive his just punishment.”

Since the new authority arrived in Damascus on December 8, clashes and shootings have been recorded in a number of areas, with security officials accusing armed men loyal to the former regime of being behind them. The authorities are carrying out security campaigns that they say target the “remnants of the former regime,” including arrests.

Residents and organizations occasionally report abuses including house confiscations, summary executions, and kidnappings, which the authorities dismiss as “individual incidents” and pledge to prosecute those responsible.

Enforcing and controlling security throughout Syria is one of the most prominent challenges facing transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a devastating conflict that began 13 years ago.