Israeli forces kill 13 in southern Syria operation

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the operation as a “war crime” and accused Israel of wanting to “ignite the region” – Copyright AFP LOUAI BESHARA

Youssef Karwashan with Layal Abou Rahal in Beirut

Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in southern Syria, the deadliest since Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power nearly a year ago, which they said was targeting an Islamist group.

Since an Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Assad in December of last year, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes as well as incursions into Syria.

The Israeli army said an exchange of fire in the operation to detain militants in the Syrian village of Beit Jin left six Israeli soldiers wounded, with three of them in a serious condition.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the operation as a “war crime” and accused Israel of wanting to “ignite the region”.

The death toll rose to 13 later on Friday morning, according to the director of health for Damascus province Toufic Hassaba, cited by state news agency SANA, after state television said earlier that 10 were killed.

State television said women and children were among the dead, with some residents still trapped under rubble and dozens of families fleeing the village to safety.

An AFP journalist saw several wounded people being taken to a hospital in Damascus, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the village.

“We were asleep when we were woken up at three in the morning by gunfire,” wounded resident Iyad Daher told AFP at al-Mouwassat hospital in the Syrian capital.

“We went outside to see what was happening and saw the Israeli army in the village, soldiers and tanks. Then they withdrew, the air force came, and the shells started falling. I was hit by shrapnel in the neck.”

The Israeli army said the targets of the operation were fighters from the Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, which is based in neighbouring Lebanon.

“The suspects operated in the area of Beit Jin in southern Syria and advanced terror attacks against Israeli civilians,” it said in a statement.

A local official told AFP that Israeli forces raided the village to capture three men, sparking clashes.

“Following the clashes, the Israeli occupation forces shelled the area with artillery and drones,” village official Abdul Rahman al-Hamrawi said.

– ‘Territorial integrity’ –

Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said Friday’s operation was “the deadliest incursion since Israel began conducting operations outside the buffer zone in southern Syria”.

Israel sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone, which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974, in the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall.

Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights, a strategic mountain plateau, since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.

Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone, drawing a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region.

The premier has previously insisted that southern Syria be demilitarised following Assad’s overthrow.

In a resolution passed on November 6, the UN Security Council reaffirmed its strong backing for Syria’s “sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity”.

Israel’s key backer the United States has been pushing for a security pact between Syria and Israel, part of President Donald Trump’s goal to shore up the fragile Gaza ceasefire with a broader Middle East peace settlement.

While Syrian and Israeli officials have held repeated rounds of talks, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ruled out Syria joining the Abraham Accords, under which a handful of Arab countries have normalised ties with Israel.

He recently met with Trump and warned in a UN speech that Israel’s persistent attacks put the region at risk, but backed diplomacy.

“In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue,” he said.

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