Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed conditional willingness to consider a deal with Syria, but today the IDF is back to carrying out offensive operations into the country’s west and southwest.
As usual, the military was active on the ground in Quneitra Governorate, raiding the village of Ruwayhina and establishing a roadblock on a road near that village. There were as yet no reports of the IDF forces detaining anyone in this operation.
The most high-profile incident was in Beit Jinn, which on Friday saw a major Israeli attack that left at least 15 people dead, and is being called a “war crime” by Syrian officials. The Israeli military conducted multiple drone strikes against the outskirts of that town again today, though no casualties were reported.
Friday’s incident involved the IDF raiding Beit Jinn and trying to detain people they accused of being members of Jamaa Islamiya (JI). When they were met with resistance, they fired on the town, then withdrew and hit it with artillery and airstrikes, which killed a number of civilians, including two children.
Israel invaded Syria back in December of 2024, immediately following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. They have occupied the UNDOF demilitarized zone since then, and regularly operate within the areas beyond that zone.
Israel and Syria have been in negotiations aimed at restoring the relative detente they had before the 2024 invasion, but Israel has repeatedly balked at returning the UNDOF area, and Netanyahu is now pressing for Syria to create a new buffer zone between the old demilitarized zone and the Syrian capital city of Damascus.
