and I said to you, I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not listened to my voice.
The Amalekites and other tribes that lived in the Arabian Desert east of Canaan joined the Midianites in their raids. These desert-dwellers were the "sons of the east" (Judges 6:3). The raids extended all the way to Gaza on the Mediterranean coast (Judges 6:4), far into Israel.