Israeli raid in southern Syria kills 13, Damascus condemns ‘criminal attack’

Thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria on Friday, Syrian state media reported, with Damascus denouncing a “criminal attack” on a village where Israel said its forces came under fire during an operation to capture militants.

The Israeli military said six soldiers were wounded – three seriously – after they came under fire from militants during the raid on the village of Beit Jinn.

The death toll marks one of the deadliest Israeli operations since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago. Israel frequently bombed Syria under Assad and scaled up its military activities after he was removed, saying its goals included keeping militants away from the border.

Read more: Israel launches strikes on Lebanon

Israel’s military said troops launched an operation to arrest suspects from Jama’a Islamiya, a Lebanese Sunni Islamist group that fired rockets from Lebanon into Israel during the Gaza war, accusing them of involvement in “terrorist plots”. The raid was described as part of routine operations in the area.

Reuters could not immediately reach Jama’a Islamiya officials for comment.

Violent clashes

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that 13 people were killed and dozens wounded when Israeli forces shelled Beit Jinn at 3:40 am. (01:40 GMT) and entered the village. Residents confronted the troops, leading to “violent clashes”, it said.

The Israeli military said “armed terrorists” opened fire on its forces, which returned fire from the ground “along with aerial support”. “Many terrorists were killed,” he said.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said Israel would not allow “terrorism and terrorist elements to establish themselves on our borders,” adding that three suspects “involved in terrorist plots” had been arrested.

The Israeli military accused them of planting explosive devices and planning future attacks, including rockets.

Damascus calls raid ‘full-blown war crime’

Syria’s foreign ministry said more than 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the Israeli attack, accusing Israel of committing a “full-scale war crime” and warning that the strikes posed a risk to regional stability.

A wounded man receives medical treatment inside a hospital, following an Israeli airstrike in southern Syria’s Beit Jinn district, according to Syrian state media, in Damascus, Syria, November 28, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

Asked about Damascus’ accusation, the Israeli prime minister’s office referred Reuters to the military statement, which did not address the claim.

Walid Akasha, a local official in Beit Jinn, denied the presence of militants. “We are a peaceful, civilian population, farmers. We have a legal right to defend ourselves. We did not attack them first – they came to our land,” he told Reuters.

He said seven people were taken from the village during a previous raid in June and their fate remained unknown. On June 12, Israel arrested what it said were members of Hamas, while Syria’s interior ministry said they were civilians.

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The UN condemns the invasion

Najat Rochdi, Deputy UN Special Envoy for Syria, condemned the Israeli invasion as “a serious and unacceptable violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, further destabilizing an already fragile environment.”

Syrian and Israeli officials have held several rounds of US-brokered talks on a border security arrangement, but negotiations have been frozen since September.

Israel has expressed deep distrust of Syria’s new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander, and has said it seeks a demilitarized southern Syria. Sharaa said Syria is not a threat to any state.

Israel has intervened several times in Syria, including operations aimed at protecting Syria’s Druze minority, notably during the violence in Sweida province in July.

Israel has also moved troops and equipment across a 1974 neutral zone in southern Syria, including the strategic Mount Hermon location.