Israeli forces carried out a raid Friday in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jin that Syrian officials and residents say left at least 10 people dead. Syria’s foreign ministry called the operation “a horrific massacre,” and state media reported women and children were among the dead.
The Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli troops entered Beit Jin aiming to detain local men, prompting dozens of families to flee. A local official, Walid Okasha, told The Associated Press that those killed were civilians and that one victim had celebrated his wedding the day before.
Israel’s military said the raid was based on intelligence about suspects tied to Jamaa Islamiya (Islamic Group) in Beit Jin who it accused of planning attacks on Israeli civilians. The military said several militants fired on Israeli troops during the operation, wounding about six soldiers who were evacuated to a hospital. Israeli forces returned fire and called in aerial support. The army said the raid ended with the suspects detained and that a number of militants were killed.
The raid comes after major changes in Syria’s control following a December 2024 offensive led by Islamist insurgents that resulted in the fall of President Bashar Assad. Israel has since treated the new Syrian authorities with suspicion, taken control of a former U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria established under a 1974 disengagement agreement, conducted numerous airstrikes on Syrian military sites and pushed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. The two countries, which have no diplomatic ties, have been in talks about a possible security arrangement to reduce tensions.
Syrian officials condemned Israeli incursions as violations of sovereignty and urged the international community to act to stop them. In a June raid on Beit Jin, Israel said it captured several people it identified as Hamas members — a claim residents disputed — and killed a man whose family said had a history of schizophrenia.
The fatalities in Beit Jin occur 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 cease-fire a year ago have killed at least 127 civilians, including children, in Lebanon. Tensions increased earlier this week after a rare strike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah official whom Israel described as the group’s chief of staff.