On 28 November, Israeli forces penetrated southern Syria, in the countryside south-west of Damascus, to carry out an arrest operation. The raid – aimed at detaining three men previously identified as belonging to the Islamist group Jamaa Islamiyya – triggered violent clashes between Israeli troops and local residents, among which resulted twenty-five injured and thirteen dead –including two children– following the massive bombardment carried out by the occupying Israeli army. The victims and wounded were rushed to Al-Mouwasat and Qatana hospitals. Dozens of families were forced to abandon the town of Beit Jinn, the main target of the attacks, and head toward safer areas.
The Syrian Foreign Minister condemned the incursion as a “war crime”, accusing Israel of violating the 1974 disengagement agreements and threatening regional stability. For its part, the Israeli army – which reported on X that six of the soldiers involved in the operation had been wounded – confirmed the “completion” of the mission, stating that it had neutralised threats and arrested suspected terrorists. According to Walid Akasha, a local official in Beit Jinn, there was no presence of terrorist factions in the area.
Israel has intensified its strikes against Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, occupying several villages in southern Syrian territory – not far from the occupied Golan Heights – out of distrust toward the current Islamist government of al-Sharaa. In a previous raid on Beit Jinn in June, Israeli forces had captured several individuals – whom they described as Hamas members – killing one person.
