Israeli forces conducted a new operation in Kiswa - southwest of Damascus - a day after a drone strike killed six Syrian soldiers. The move marks another escalation amid rising tensions in the region.
Local sources report that Israeli aircraft targeted a former army barracks in Kiswa on Wednesday. Video verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking team shows airstrikes hitting multiple sites.
A Syrian military source confirmed that Israel carried out a landing operation using four helicopters, deploying dozens of soldiers and search equipment at the site for over two hours. No clashes occurred between Israeli and Syrian forces during the operation.
Context and recent tensions
The operation follows an Israeli drone strike near Kiswa that killed six soldiers. Syrian officials have accused Israel of attempting to expand its control in the region.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strike, calling it “a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter” and a breach of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Israel’s history of operations in Syria
Since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes targeting military sites across Syria. It has also expanded its presence in the Golan Heights, seizing areas of the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that breached the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Earlier this week, Syria reported that Israel sent 60 soldiers to control an area near Mount Hermon, close to the Lebanon border. These operations come amid deadly sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority province of Suwayda, where 1,400 people were killed in July.
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