DAMASCUS: Syria’s interior ministry on Thursday said the Israeli military killed one civilian and detained seven people during an overnight incursion, with the Israeli army saying it seized members of Palestinian group Hamas.

The Israeli army said on X that its soldiers seized several suspected members of Palestinian group Hamas in a “targeted” operation in Beit Jinn, 12 kilometres (seven and a half miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration. It has also deployed tro­ops across the demilitarised zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan.

Syria’s interior ministry said “these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic… these practises cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in further tension and turmoil”.

The Israeli military said troops carried out a “targeted, intelligence-based nighttime operation in Syria and apprehended several Hamas terrorists”. It alleged that those seized were plotting attacks on Israeli troops.

The Syrian interior ministry said that Israeli soldiers detained seven people and fired directly at the villagers, killing one civilian.

In a statement, Syria’s foreign ministry called on the international community to “take decisive steps to stop these recurring attacks”.

The raid comes days after the Israeli army said it “struck a Hamas terrorist in the area of Mazraat Beit Jinn”, which neighbours Beit Jinn. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one person was killed in the attack.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025