Thirteen Israeli troops were injured on Friday during an overnight incursion into the Syrian village of Beit Jinn, in the Damascus countryside.

Among the thirteen injured were three critically wounded in confrontations that broke out with locals, Israeli media outlets reported. Reports indicate three Israeli soldiers were critically injured in the overnight raid, as Israeli occupation forces attempted to detain and abduct several individuals from Beit Jinn, whom they claim are affiliates of the Islamic Group. 

Details of the confrontations

Elite troops from the 55th Paratroopers Brigade of the 98th Elite Division raided the town of Beit Jinn, which is located just a few hundred meters from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) Zone. During their attempt to detain some of the individuals, gunfire broke out from locals, forcing a withdrawal. 

An Israeli Humvee vehicle used in the incursion was subsequently left behind. Then, according to Israeli reports, the Israeli Air Force raided the area and bombed the abandoned vehicle. Among the three seriously injured troops were two officers of the 55th Brigade.

Israeli occupation forces said they detained three individuals during the raid, but the ensuing confrontations and Israeli strikes left at least 13 people dead and 25 others injured in the Syrian village. According to the Syrian News Channel, several others remain trapped beneath the rubble left by the bombardment.

Read more: PIJ slams claims of military buildup in Syria as fabrications

Unabated Israeli aggression 

The recurrent incursions are adding to a pattern,  as noted by Syrian authorities, of persistent Israeli military aggression in southern Syria, particularly around buffer zones and areas near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights or former separation zones. These attacks underscore the continuing Israeli strategy of aggression across southern Syrian territories under the pretext of counterterrorism or security. The repeated ground raids, use of air and artillery fire, detainments, and abductions continue to represent a serious breach of Syrian sovereignty.

The toll on civilians, including deaths, injuries, abductions, and damage to homes, contributes to growing instability in affected areas.

Pointing to the increasingly volatile state in the Syrian south, around eight Israeli settlers reportedly crossed into Syrian-held territory from the UNDOF line. In the occupied Syrian Golan, the intruders reportedly breached the zone using a disc saw and reached Bir al-Ajam, opposite the settlement of Aloni Habashan, before being escorted back by Israeli occupation forces.

At another point, settlers raided Syrian lands in the Mount Hermon area.

Together, these incidents highlight an escalating Israeli occupation campaign that is steadily eroding the security of Syria’s southern frontier, where the occupation insists it will not withdraw due to the area’s strategic value, a stance that may point to further deterioration and instability in the region.

Read more: Israeli patrols, coalition operations, explosion reported across Syria