The Israeli military carried out a wave of airstrikes on Tuesday targeting government forces in Syria and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, escalating what Israel said were efforts to secure the country’s northern border.

Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority as deadly clashes continued in the region at the Israeli frontier.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.