Israel kills 13 people in southern Syria in deadliest attack in months

An Israeli overnight attack on a village in southern Syria killed at least 13 people, state media reported, in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind in months. Children are said to be among the dead.

Sana’a News Agency stated that Beitkin residents “confronted” Israeli troops, resulting in an exchange of fire. Air strikes were also carried out. Syria’s foreign ministry condemned what it called Israel’s “war crimes.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops entered villages on the edge of the occupied Golan Heights to detain militants “who have launched terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.”

According to reports, six Israeli soldiers were injured in the conflict, three of them seriously.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday’s operation targeted the Islamic Resistance militant group. The attack began when “several armed terrorists opened fire on its soldiers,” who returned fire, the statement said.

The village also came under shelling, Sana said. Video released by the Israel Defense Forces showed two airstrikes – one apparently targeting a group of people and the other on a building. In body camera footage also released by the IDF, soldiers can be seen firing in the streets in the dark, with automatic gunfire heard in the distance.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said a building collapsed during the operation.

The Israel Defense Forces later said that “all suspects have been arrested and some terrorists have been neutralized.”

Sana said the three were arrested by troops before retreating.

Sana’a quoted the director of a local hospital as saying that bodies had been received, including five from one family. The official said that dozens of people were injured in the incident.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that more than 10 civilians have been killed, including women and children. It accused Israel of committing “total war crimes” and called on the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop Israel’s “aggressive policies.”

Israel has regularly invaded Syrian villages, saying its actions are aimed at preventing the presence of armed groups.

Nearly a year since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israel has moved its forces across the buffer zone in the Golan Heights into southern Syria, where many anti-Israel groups and organizations operate.

Israel says it will not allow Syrian troops it considers a threat to be deployed there.

The buffer zone – a stretch of demilitarized land – has been off-limits since the end of the 1973 ceasefire in the war between Israel and Syria, intended to maintain peace. The United Nations said the IDF deployment was a “violation” of an agreement that both sides are expected to abide by.

For months, the United States has been mediating talks between Israel and Syria to reach a security agreement between the two sides in the region, without success.