Syria calls Israeli incursion, strikes that killed 13 a ‘war crime’
Two Syrian children are among those killed by Israeli strikes following the incursion into the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside.
At least 13 people, including children, have been killed and 25 were injured as Israel launched another incursion into Syrian territory in the Damascus countryside, according to state media, with several Israeli soldiers also reported wounded in clashes.
Syrian state media reported on Friday that two children were among those killed in the Israeli dawn raid and strikes, which forced dozens of families to flee from the town of Beit Jinn to nearby and safer areas.
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The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned “the criminal attack carried out by an Israeli occupation army patrol in Beit Jinn. The occupation forces’ targeting of the town of Beit Jinn with brutal and deliberate shelling, following their failed incursion, constitutes a full-fledged war crime,” it said.
The remains of at least five Syrians, including two children, were taken to the Golan National Hospital in the city of al-Salam in Quneitra, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Israeli drones also continue to fly over the area, the report added.
The Syrian Civil Defence said their teams were unable to enter Beit Jinn to rescue the wounded as the Israeli military continues to target any movement.
Israeli military incursions have become more brazen, more frequent and more violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Local sources also confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday that several Syrians were killed and others wounded in Israeli artillery and missile strikes on Beit Jinn.
Clashes between the residents and the invading Israeli force erupted after the incursion.
Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid, who recently reported from the area in Syria, said that most of the casualties from the latest Israeli raid are civilians.
“People will tell you that there are no presence of Hezbollah or any militias in the area, that they are just farmers and shepherds and they do not have anything to do with resisting Israel. And that’s why the incursion has come as a surprise to people there,” he explained.
In a statement posted on X, the Israeli military said six of its soldiers were wounded, three of them seriously in an exchange of fire.
The Israeli military added that while the operation has been “completed” and all suspects were either arrested or “eliminated”, its forces are still being deployed in the area “and will continue to operate against any threat” to Israel.
Iyad Daher was asleep in bed when Israeli forces descended on the town, wounding him with shrapnel to the neck. “We were asleep when we were woken up at three in the morning by gunfire,” Daher told the AFP news agency from Al Mouwasat hospital in Damascus, located about 40km (25 miles) from his village.
“We went outside to see what was happening and saw the Israeli army in the village, soldiers and tanks,” Daher recalled. “Then they withdrew, the air force came – and the shells started falling.”
Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth said reports indicate that an Israeli force that had entered Beit Jinn was surrounded, prompting air strikes and artillery shelling to extract and complete its withdrawal. This resulted in the deaths of several Syrians and injuries to others.
The area had witnessed an exchange of fire involving Israeli military helicopters after an Israeli force entered the town.
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