Israel is considering expanded military operations inside Syria after an IDF raid targeting a terror suspect turned into a deadly bloodbath on Friday.
Thirteen Syrians were killed in the clash in the southern part of Syria on Friday, when Israeli Defense Forces detained two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terror organization from the village of Beit Jinn, roughly four miles from Israel’s eastern border, according to state media.
At least two children were killed in the attack, according to Syrian state media.
Six IDF soldiers suffered injuries, with three considered to be in serious condition, after being fired upon by gunmen while executing the raid.
Israel Air Force responded to the incident with fighter jets, helicopters and drones conducting several strikes during the tussle, The Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli military is now considering an escalation of the attacks if it turns out that members of the Syrian military participated in the gunfight Friday, the outlet reported.
The IDF could transition to fewer terrorist arrest operations in favor of increased devastating airstrikes in the region, according to the report.
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,” Al Jazeera reported.
Nine IDF posts were established inside Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024. Those posts are mostly in the UN-patrolled buffer zone that sits on the border of the two countries — though two outposts are on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, according to The Times of Israel.
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took over when al-Assad was toppled, visited the White House on Nov. 10 and quickly became friends with President Trump.
During the meeting, Trump praised Al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda terrorist, as a “strong leader” and a “tough guy.”
With Wires
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