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IDF says troops in southern Syria fired upon, retaliated with helicopter strike
Israeli troops stationed in southern Syria came under fire late Sunday night, the Israel Defense Forces said, marking the second confrontation in as many days on the relatively quiet front.
No injuries were caused in the incident, and the IDF said that in response, troops returned fire and launched mortars in the area, and a helicopter carried out a strike in an open area.
The exchange of fire came a day after the IDF said troops had killed two gunmen inside the Israeli-held buffer zone in southern Syria.
The pair, described by the IDF as “armed terrorists,” were identified approaching Israel from an area near the Druze town of Hader, around a kilometer from the Israel-Syria border. Soldiers stationed in the area fired on the pair, killing them and then capturing their bodies.
Security officials said they were looking into their identities and affiliations.
Syria’s foreign ministry, in a statement published by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Monday, said it “condemned in the strongest terms” the two nighttime incidents, and warned that Israel’s “aggressive practices” were undermining the Syrian government’s progress in “consolidating security and stability” across the country, less than two years after a brutal 14-year civil war.
The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Most of the Israeli-held posts are located within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the two countries.
Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (nine miles) inside Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”
On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain inside security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip, “without any time limit.”
Still, incidents in the Syria buffer zone have become increasingly rare in recent months.
In April, the IDF said it fired on a suspect who approached the Israeli border in southern Syria.
And in March, the Israeli military said it struck Syrian military positions in southern Syria in response to an alleged attack on Druze civilians in the Sweida area.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
