This is a locator map of Syria and its capital, Damascus.
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DAMASCUS, Syria – Israeli forces in southern Syria raided a village in southern Syria on Friday and opened fire when confronted by residents, killing at least 10 people, Syrian officials said, as Israel continues to fight on multiple fronts while a shaky ceasefire in Gaza drags on.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the attack was “a horrific massacre” and that women and children were among those killed.
Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli forces entered the village of Beit Jin with the aim of detaining locals and opened heavy fire after residents protested. Dozens of families fled the area.
Israel said on Friday it launched an operation following intelligence to capture suspects from the Jama’a Islamiya, or Islamic group, operating in Beit Jinn to attack Israeli civilians. The army said that during the raid, several militants fired on Israeli soldiers, wounding half a dozen soldiers who were taken to hospital.
The army said Israeli troops fired on the terrorists and also responded with air support. It said the operation was over, all suspects were captured and several terrorists were killed.
Israel has approached new authorities in Syria cautiously since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in an offensive led by Islamist rebels in December 2024. Since the fall of Assad, Israeli forces have seized the former UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria established under the 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites, and has pressed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus.
The two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, are discussing a possible security agreement to ease tensions.
Syrian officials have condemned the Israeli incursion as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. On Friday the government called on the international community to take “urgent action” to stop Israeli incursions.
Walid Okasha, a local village official, told The Associated Press that those killed were civilians and that one of them had celebrated his wedding the day before.
“The situation is pathetic,” he said.
In a previous raid on Beit Zin in June, Israeli forces captured several people they said were Hamas members – a characterization disputed by residents – and killed a man whose family said he had a history of schizophrenia.
Ongoing clashes in the area have raised concerns that unrest could spread and undermine the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
The deaths in Syria followed a series of strikes by the Israeli air force on parts of southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel says its ongoing attacks are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding after the devastating war ended with a ceasefire last year.
Israel has killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in its attacks on Lebanon since a ceasefire a year ago, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The situation worsened earlier this week with a rare attack in the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing a senior Hezbollah official, whom Israel described as the group’s chief of staff.
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