By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – Israel has confirmed that its warplanes hit targets in southern Syria, including around the capital, Damascus, and there were reports of causalities.
Tuesday’s strikes came as Israel’s government warned it would not allow the new “Syrian regime” or other “terrorist groups” to threaten the Jewish nation.
An independent war monitor said at least two people were killed in Israeli air raids at the “military unit’s headquarters southwest of Damascus,” Syria.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not confirm if the dead were civilians or military personnel. Syrian officials confirmed two were killed, adding that several people have been injured in the Israeli strikes.
Israeli planes struck the town of Kisweh about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) south of Damascus, a Syrian security source and Syria TV said.
The security source said a military site in the area was hit without providing further details.
Other sources reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted raids on at least two military sites south of Damascus.
MILITARY VEHICLES TARGETED
Syrian officials also said Israeli airstrikes targeted a group of military vehicles inside the Al-Kiswah area on the outskirts of Damascus.
“Over the past few hours, the IDF struck military targets in southern Syria, including command centers and multiple sites containing weapons,” the Israeli military explained without providing more details.
“The presence of military forces and assets in the southern part of Syria poses a threat to the citizens of Israel. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” it added in a statement monitored by Worthy News.
A series of blasts and the sound of airplanes flying low were heard over the Syrian capital, Damascus, residents of the city and reporters there said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed that the strikes were to ensure that “Syrian regime forces” or other “terrorist groups” did not infringe on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) security zone in southern Syria.
“The Air Force is currently conducting powerful strikes in southern Syria as part of our new policy of demilitarizing the region. We will not jeopardize the security of our citizens,” he added.
“Any attempt by Syrian regime forces and terrorist organizations to entrench themselves in the [IDF] security zone of southern Syria will be met with fire,” the minister warned.
FIRST ATTACK
Observers said it was the first Israeli attack on the Damascus area since Ahmed al-Sharaa took over Syria in December following the ouster of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
His government and the United Nations have pressured Israel to leave southern Syria.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to adhere to these demands, saying southern Syria must remain demilitarized and its Druze communities be protected.
Addressing a graduation ceremony for military cadet officers in Holon on Sunday, Netanyahu said, “We demand the full demilitarization of southern Syria; we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.”
An estimated 700,000-800,000 Druze live in Syria, primarily in southwestern areas near Israel and Jordan. They make up around four percent of the Syrian population.
Netanyahu insisted Sunday that “We will not allow the forces of HTS [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] or the new Syrian Army to enter the area south of Damascus.”
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham is the Turkish-backed Islamist group that toppled Syria’s autocratic President Bashar Assad and took power. Analysts say Israel’s apparent close relationship with the Druze dates back to 1948 when many Druze volunteered for the Israeli army.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, Druze have been seen showing solidarity with Israel while distancing themselves from Arab and Islamic radicalism, analysts say.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States is rapidly approaching another historic fiscal milestone, with the national debt now nearing $40 trillion as Washington continues running massive annual deficits and interest costs consume a growing share of federal spending.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner met senior Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday as the Trump administration intensified efforts to move Gaza toward disarmament and postwar governance, even as Israel continued targeted strikes against terrorist operatives inside the Gaza Strip.
A third red heifer has been born in Israel this season, giving rabbis three candidates now being examined as part of renewed efforts connected to the biblical purification rites required for Temple service.
A highly unusual midsummer storm swept across parts of Israel on Saturday, August 15, bringing heavy rain to Jerusalem, shattering August rainfall records near the capital, and sending floodwaters through a Judean Desert stream in what meteorologists described as an unprecedented summer event.
France’s Constitutional Council has upheld the core provisions of a sweeping new law establishing a legal right to assisted dying, clearing one of the final major obstacles to euthanasia and assisted suicide in a nation long shaped by Catholic tradition.
Scores of people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, authorities said, as rescuers struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, while a less powerful tremor was reported in North Sumatra province.
Five people were injured, one critically, in a shooting involving multiple gunmen at Virginia State University early Saturday, authorities said, a day after six people, including a suspected shooter, died in separate shootings in Michigan.