Israel targeted what it called a "terrorist" in southern Syria on Saturday, drawing swift condemnation from Damascus. According to the Syrian foreign ministry, the incident was a drone strike on a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of the capital, a "blatant" violation of its territory. The ministry said the attack hit a car on a road near Beit Jinn village in the countryside west of Damascus, causing injuries among civilians; Syrian state television reported that one person was injured.
The Israeli military said it fired in southern Syria toward what it described as a terrorist whose activity posed an immediate threat to its soldiers, but it did not disclose the method of fire.
The attack came as tensions between Israel and Syria had already flared this week after Israel bombed an airbase in the northwest on Tuesday—an escalation that the US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called "unnecessary".
Context and broader tensions
The latest strike was the second known disruption in the past seven days, and it follows reports that Israel had also struck a military airbase near the Turkish border, a move Syria said threatened to escalate regional instability.
After the airbase attack, Washington issued a rare rebuke, calling the strike an "unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability". Barrack went further in an interview, suggesting the operation may have been "the Israelis baiting the Turks" as part of an attempt to draw Turkey into a conflict before upcoming Israeli elections.
Israel's statement and regional dynamics
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement following the airbase strikes, saying "Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo." However, Turkey did not confirm whether any of its troops had moved to the base, and it rejected the Israeli claim that it posed a threat.
The airbase in question, Abu al-Duhur, located some 70 kilometres from the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013; rebel forces captured it as they swept through Syria in December 2024, months after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad.
The broader context
Israeli forces continue to operate in southern Syria and also occupy territory seized from Syria after the fall of Assad, contributing to a landscape where Syria is trying to rebuild its military infrastructure that was damaged during the recent offensive.
The Turkish military is among those that have provided assistance to Syria since the fall of Assad, while Israel still views both countries with suspicion according to recent reports.
The recrimination over Beit Jinn underscores a broader pattern, with Syria's foreign ministry says that the strike was part of repeated Israeli attacks on the country and coincided with a broader spike in strikes by Israel inside Syria. Syria's foreign also said the attack was a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty and held Israel responsible for its consequences.