Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to Yahweh.
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.