Israeli forces killed at least 13 southern Syrian raiders, officials and civilians say

Israeli forces in southern Syria attacked a village and opened fire on civilians on Friday, killing at least 13 officials, as Israel’s fighting in several Gaza fronts continued.

Syria’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the attack was a “horrific massacre” and that women and children were among those killed.

The Syrian News Agency Agency Sana said that Israeli forces entered the village of Beit Jin with the intention of arresting local men and opened heavy fire after confronting the residents. A lot of families fled the area.

Israel said that Israel is carrying out an operation to arrest suspects from the Jama’a Islamiya militant group in Beit Jin who are suspected of planning to organize an IED and Rocket attack in Israel. He said some soldiers opened fire on the troops, injuring six, and that the troops returned fire, including the delivery of air. Israel said that the operation had ended, all the suspects were arrested and several soldiers were killed, but he did not provide evidence for these allegations.

The village chief, Walid Okasha, told the Associated Press that those killed were civilians. Among the dead were a man, his wife, his two children and his brother and another man who had married the day before.

“The situation is sad,” he said.

Firas Daher, Beit Jin Resident, told the accompanying media that the forces moved at 3 local times and were met with “little resistance, with light weapons.” The forces responded with drones and helicopters and fire from heavy artillery.

“Whenever anyone would go inside the house or any car would go, it would hit. When we tried to take the injured people to the hospital, they would hit the car and run away,” he said.

In the previous attack on Beit Jin in June, the Israeli forces captured several people who were members of Hamas – noted by the citizens – and killed a man who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Previous attacks have been met by armed residents

Since the fall of the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israeli forces have seized a piece of Southern Syria that was part of the buffer agreement established under the 1974. The forces regularly carry out operations in towns and villages inside and outside the area, including raids on people who claim to be suspected militants. Israel has also launched hundreds of airstrikes against Syrian military forces and pushed the popular area south of Damascus.

Attacks on Israel have been met several times by armed local residents. In April, the army attacked the city of Nawa, and in the face of civilians, the army attacked the city, killing nine people. A month earlier, Israeli forces killed six people in the village of Koayiya in a similar dispute during an attack.

In a previous attack on Beit Jin in June, Israeli forces captured several alleged Hamas members – identified by residents – and killed a man with a history of schizophrenia.

Israel says it took a 400-square-meter Demititarized Buffer zone in southern Syria in a previous move to protect troops from moving into the area after the Islamic State was reduced to Assad. It means the move is temporary, but critics accuse Israel of using Syria’s chaos to grab land.

Israel still controls the height of the golan where it was held in Syria during the Arab war of 1967 and later accepted – the movement was not known by many of the international community.

Syria calls for ‘urgent action’

Syrian authorities have condemned Israel’s accusations as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. On Friday the government called on the international community to take “urgent action” to stop the Israeli occupation.

The ongoing conflict in the region has fueled concerns that the conflict could disrupt and undermine Gaza’s security.

The deaths in Syria followed a series of strikes by the Israeli army in parts of southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel says its ongoing strikes are aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding after a devastating war last year that ended with a ceasefire.

The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israel had killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in its strikes in Lebanon since last year. Things escalated earlier this week with a rare strike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, killing a senior Hezbollah official described by Israel as the group’s head.

Najat Rochdi, the UN Vice-Chancellor of Syria, condemned the attack on Israel as ‘a grave and unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Syria and the integrity of the country, which is more natural. “

The Syrian and Israeli authorities have met twelve times with us – trade talks regarding a security agreement to bring stability to the border region but the talks have been stalled in mid-September.