Local sources told Al Jazeera that nine people were killed and others injured in Israeli artillery and missile attacks targeting the town of Beit Jinn; Israeli soldiers were also injured.
Nine Syrians were killed and others wounded in Israeli artillery and missile strikes targeting the city of Beit Jinn, local sources told Al Jazeera on Friday.
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Following the incursion, clashes broke out between residents and the invading Israeli forces. Several Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured.
Israeli sources initially reported that two of its soldiers were wounded, while two Syrian civilians were killed. Israeli forces arrested three Syrians before retreating, sources said.
Other reports said that six Israeli soldiers were injured, three of them seriously.
Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth said reports indicated that an Israeli force entering the Syrian village of Beit Jinn was surrounded, prompting airstrikes and artillery shelling to force its evacuation and withdrawal. This resulted in the deaths of many Syrians and injuries to others.
The area was hit by gunfire with Israeli military helicopters after Israeli forces entered the city.
Israeli incursions, bombings and kidnappings in Syria
Israeli forces frequently conduct ground incursions into Syrian territory in the occupied Golan Heights and the Quneitra province in the Damascus countryside.
Israeli military incursions have become more brazen, more frequent and more violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria after ousting President Bashar al-Assad from power in December 2024.
Israel captured territory in the Syrian Golan Heights after the 1967 war and has held it ever since. However, after the fall of al-Assad, Israel violated the 1974 agreement and again invaded its neighbor’s territory, capturing more land along the border as part of a “buffer zone”, including the strategically important peak of Jabal al-Sheikh.
Israel had been bombing Syria even before the fall of al-Assad, its regional enemy and ally of Iran. But instead of trying to move forward on a new path with Syria, Israel has doubled its bombing campaign and increased the number of attacks this year, including on the capital Damascus, which killed several Syrian soldiers and attacked the defense ministry.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presence with Israeli troops in illegally occupied territory in southern Syria angered Damascus, and raised further doubts over whether a security deal could be agreed between the two countries.
Netanyahu’s visit with several of his senior officials indicated that despite encouragement from the United States, he does not plan to deviate from his hardline stance on Syria.
In Quneitra province, Israeli army tanks have set up checkpoints and patrols, even manning gates. They stop and search civilians, and some are kidnapped.
Described by Israel as security operations, Syrian officials and human rights groups refer to such incidents as abductions or unlawful arrests. 40 people have reportedly been detained in recent weeks.
Coupled with repeated Israeli bombings and incursions, the fledgling government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is struggling to stem explosions of sectarian violence in a country ravaged by a devastating 14-year civil war, as the country emerges from its isolation to re-engage internationally, securing vital economic lifelines.
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