Daijiworld Media Network - Syria

Syria, Nov 28: At least ten people, including children, were killed in an overnight Israeli raid on a village in southern Syria, Syrian state media reported on Friday, marking one of the deadliest such incidents in recent months.

According to the Sana news agency, residents of Beit Jinn, located near the edge of the occupied Golan Heights, “confronted” Israeli troops during the incursion, sparking an intense exchange of gunfire. Airstrikes were also carried out during the operation.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the raid targeted militants from the Jaama Islamiya group, who it claimed were “advancing terror attacks against Israeli civilians”. It confirmed that six Israeli soldiers were injured in the clashes. Sana reported that three individuals were detained before the forces withdrew.

The IDF said its soldiers came under fire from “armed terrorists” at the start of the operation, prompting them to retaliate. Footage released by the military showed two airstrikes — one appearing to hit a group of people and the other striking a building. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said a building collapsed during the raid.

State media quoted the director of a local hospital as saying bodies had been brought in, including five from the same family, while dozens more were injured.

Israel has long carried out operations inside Syrian territory, citing the presence of hostile armed groups. Following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad nearly a year ago, Israeli forces have moved further across the buffer zone on the Golan Heights into southern Syria, where several anti-Israel cells operate.

Israel maintains that it will not permit the Syrian army to deploy in the region, which it views as a direct security threat. Meanwhile, months of US-led mediation between Israel and Syria for a security arrangement have yielded no breakthrough.