Syrian state media and opposition-linked monitors reported late Wednesday a wave of Israeli strikes in the southwest Damascus countryside, including what they described as a rare ground operation by Israeli forces lasting more than two hours. Casualties were reported, though the exact toll remained unclear.
According to Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, the strikes began after Syrian troops discovered “surveillance and listening devices” during a patrol in the countryside around al-Kiswah, south of Damascus.
Alleged Israeli strikes in the Damascus countryside
Military sources quoted by Al Jazeera said Israeli troops landed at a military post in al-Kiswah, equipped with “search gear,” and remained there for more than two hours. They said dozens of Israeli soldiers took part but did not clash with Syrian forces.
Two Syrian army officers told Reuters that Israeli special forces landed near Jabal Manaa, a hilltop that once housed a major air defense base operated by Iran and Hezbollah before it was destroyed in earlier Israeli strikes. The base is now garrisoned by troops loyal to Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The sources said Israeli troops later withdrew.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources across the country, said Israeli jets carried out about 10 airstrikes against military sites in the area, roughly 10 kilometers from the Damascus International Fairgrounds, which had just opened in a ceremony attended by al-Sharaa.
The reports came a day after Syria’s El Ekhbariya TV said six Syrian soldiers were killed in an Israeli drone strike in al-Kiswah. On Wednesday night, Syria’s Foreign Ministry raised the toll to eight, saying the dead included members of the Syrian army’s 44th Division, at least one of them a commander. Several others were wounded.
FSANA reported that sustained Israeli bombardments prevented rescue teams from reaching the site until the following evening, when soldiers recovered the bodies of those killed and destroyed what remained of the alleged surveillance systems.
“This is a grave violation of international law and of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of “aggressive policies aimed at destabilizing security and stability in the region.”
Israel has not commented on the latest reports. It rarely acknowledges specific operations in Syria but has said repeatedly it targets Iranian military assets and allied groups such as Hezbollah to prevent their entrenchment near its borders.