Damascus says Israeli military incursions near border a ‘dangerous escalation’

Syria says it “strongly condemns” what it says was an Israeli military incursion into an area in the country’s south, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”

According to Damascus, dozens of soldiers and over 10 military vehicles were involved in a raid in the area of Beit Jinn, which sits near the border with the Golan Heights.

It also condemns Israel’s “control” of an area in the Mount Hermon foothills, saying it is a “blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.”

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, including Beit Jinn, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

There is no information from the Israeli military on any specific military raids today.

The statement comes hours after Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa reportedly confirmed that his government was in “advanced” talks with Israel on a security agreement which would seek to clinch an Israeli retreat back to the 1974 disengagement lines that previously formed the de facto border between the countries.