IDF conducts raids in Syria, detains terror suspects

Israel Defense Forces troops have in recent days carried out nighttime arrests of several suspects involved in terrorist activity in southern Syria, the military said on Friday.

Troops uncovered weapons during the operations.

IDF soldiers “continue to thwart attempts by terrorists to establish themselves in the region in order to ensure the safety of Israeli civilians,” the statement added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel’s objectives in Syria include protecting the Druze population in the Sweida region and beyond, establishing a security zone from the Golan Heights to south of Damascus, and creating a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid such as food, building materials and large-scale medical assistance.

Syrian state media reported on Thursday that Israeli ground forces raided a site in the Damascus countryside that had been struck by air over the previous two days. According to Arab media, troops remained there for more than two hours during the overnight operation.

Later on Thursday, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa); and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) called on Israel to “immediately cease hostilities” with Syria.

In a joint statement, the U.S. lawmakers noted that they had just returned from Syria, hearing from President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Cabinet ministers and Syrians of varying ethnic backgrounds that they all wish to “move past the violence and strife that consumed the country for over 14 years.”

The Americans went on to describe Israel’s strikes on its neighbor as “destabilizing,” and urged Jerusalem to “seize the moment” and “advance peace” with Damascus.

“It is unclear how long the door to this opportunity will remain open,” they added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force carried out some 15 strikes in southern Damascus, targeting Syrian army headquarters to pave the way for helicopter landings, Israel Hayom reported. A government source told SANA that soldiers had uncovered “surveillance and eavesdropping devices” in the area before being hit by Israeli strikes. SANA also reported an Israeli raid in the village of Tranja in Quneitra Province in southwestern Syria on Tuesday.

The IDF has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime last December and has taken control of Mount Hermon and the security zone.

Israeli soldiers will remain in these positions “to protect the communities of the Golan and the Galilee from threats emanating from the Syrian side, as the central lesson from the events of October 7,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, referring to the Hamas-led invasion and massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

“We will also continue to protect the Druze in Syria,” he said.

Katz spoke after Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa claimed on Sunday that there had been progress in negotiations for renewed security understandings with Jerusalem based on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the Yom Kippur War.