JERUSALEM: Israeli Druze blocked an Israeli Army ambulance they believed was transporting wounded Syrian rebels on Monday, local authorities said, a rare confrontation underscoring Druze concern for brethren caught up in the civil war next door.

An Israeli army ambulance carrying Syrian casualties was stopped before dawn on Monday on the outskirts of Hurfeish, a Druze town in northern Israel, by several residents who demanded to inspect the passengers, a police spokesman said.

The ambulance pulled away, with the Hurfeish residents throwing rocks at it as they followed in pursuit, the police spokesman said, adding that a 54-year-old local man was injured after apparently being hit by the military vehicle.

Farah Sabeq, secretary of the Hurfeish municipality, confirmed several townsmen had taken part in the incident. Speaking to Reuters, he described them as “incensed by the situation in Syria” and said that while they had tried to close the road used by the ambulance, he knew of no stone throwing.