At least 13 people have been killed in an Israeli raid on a village in southern Syria overnight, state media reported, in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind for months. It said children were among the dead.
Sana news agency said residents of Beit Jinn confronted Israeli troops, leading to a firefight. Air strikes were also carried out. Syria's foreign ministry condemned what it called a war crime by Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that troops went into the village, on the edge of the occupied Golan Heights, to detain militants who it said advanced terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Six Israeli soldiers were injured in the clashes, three seriously, it said.
The IDF claimed it targeted the Jamaa Islamiya militant group in Friday's operation. It stated that when the raid began, several armed terrorists opened fire on its soldiers, who responded in kind.
Sana reported that the village was also shelled during the operation. Footage released by the IDF shows two air strikes - one apparently hitting a group of people, and the other targeting a building. Bodycam footage showed soldiers engaging in firefight during the night.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) noted that a building collapsed during the operation.
The IDF later announced that all of the suspects were apprehended, and a number of terrorists were eliminated. Sana claimed that three people were arrested before the troops retreated.
The director of a local hospital stated that they received bodies, including five from one family, with dozens of others injured in the incident.
The Syrian government reported more than ten civilians killed, including women and children, and urged for action from the UN Security Council to halt Israel's policy of aggression.
Israel frequently conducts incursions into Syrian territory, asserting the need to prevent armed groups' presence.
Following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad nearly a year ago, Israel has increased its military presence in the buffer zone on the Golan Heights, viewed as necessary due to the emergence of various anti-Israel factions.
Israel maintains that it cannot allow the Syrian army, which it perceives as a threat, to advance into the area.
The buffer zone, designed to maintain peace after the 1973 war ceasefire, has seen the IDF's deployments considered by the UN as a violation of agreements upheld by both nations.
Recent months have seen US-led efforts to mediate a security agreement between Israel and Syria, though without success.
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