At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli operation in the village of Beit Jin in southern Syria, witnesses and Syrian media reports said Friday.
What do we know about the Israeli attack in Syria?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has detained suspected members of the Jama’a Islamiyah group who were planning attacks against Israel.
Jama’a Islamiya is a Sunni Islamist political party and anti-Semitic organization based in neighboring Lebanon. Jama’a Islamiyah has an armed wing called Al-Fajr Forces.
Israel said six of its soldiers were injured in the morning raid, three of them seriously.
Syrian state television reported that families fled the area where the IDF raid took place. Israeli forces reportedly detained three people.
Syrian local official Abdul Rahman al-Hamrawi told the AFP news agency that after the clash, Israel “shelled the area with artillery and drones.”
Syria says Israel committed ‘war crimes’
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s “criminal aggression” in Beit Jinn, and said Israel’s actions seek to “provoke conflict in the region.”
“This is a war crime,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, told German news agency DPA that the Israeli operation was the largest in Syria since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad last year.
The Assad family had ruled Syria for decades. A group of rebels led by Ahmed al-Shaara ousted Assad, with al-Shaara now serving as Syria’s transitional president.
During the political transition in Syria in December, Israel said it expanded a buffer zone with its neighbor to ensure the safety of Israelis.
Al-Sharaa urged Israel to stop its incursions into Syrian territory. He has also said that he does not want direct conflict with Israel and would prefer to focus on rebuilding Syria after more than a decade of civil war.
Although Syria and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, the two have recently been in talks about a possible security agreement to reduce tensions.
Edited by Shawn Sinico