DAMASCUS, Syria — Israeli forces raided the village of Beit Jin in southern Syria on Friday and opened fire after residents confronted them, killing at least 10 people, Syrian officials and residents said. Syria’s foreign ministry called the attack “a horrific massacre,” saying women and children were among the dead.
The Syrian state news agency SANA reported Israeli forces entered Beit Jin aiming to detain local men and that dozens of families fled the area. A local official, Walid Okasha, told The Associated Press those killed were civilians and that one of the victims had celebrated his wedding the day before.
Israel said the operation followed intelligence about suspects from Jamaa Islamiya (Islamic Group) in Beit Jin who planned attacks on Israeli civilians. The military said several militants fired at Israeli troops during the raid, injuring about six soldiers who were evacuated to a hospital. Israeli forces returned fire and used aerial support. The army said the operation concluded with all suspects apprehended and that a number of militants were killed.
Since the fall of President Bashar Assad in a December 2024 offensive led by Islamist insurgents, Israel has viewed the new Syrian authorities warily. Israeli forces have taken control of a former U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria established under a 1974 disengagement agreement, carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites and pushed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. The two countries, which have no diplomatic relations, have been negotiating a possible security agreement to reduce tensions.
Syrian officials condemned the incursions as violations of sovereignty and called on the international community to act urgently to halt them. In a previous raid on Beit Jin in June, Israel said it captured several people it identified as Hamas members — a description disputed by residents — and killed a man whose family said had a history of schizophrenia.
The fatalities in Syria come as Israel continues strikes in southern Lebanon aimed at preventing Hezbollah from regrouping after last year’s war. The U.N. said this week that Israeli strikes since the ceasefire a year ago have killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in Lebanon. Tensions rose earlier this week after a rare strike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah official Israel described as the group’s chief of staff.
