But they represent something different, and not just because they led to a dramatic Israeli bombardment of Syria’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday that sent huge clouds of smoke billowing over central Damascus.

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,