A casualty receives medical treatment inside a hospital, following an Israeli raid in the Beit Jinn area of southern Syria. — Reuters JERUSALEM, Nov 28 (Agencies): Thirteen people were killed by Israeli fire in a village in southern Syria on Friday, Syrian state media reported, while the Israeli military said five soldiers were wounded in a clash during an operation to apprehend members of a militant group there.
Syrian state media reports suggested the Israeli raid in the Beit Jinn area had spiralled into one of the deadliest such incidents since President Bashar al-Assad was toppled a year ago. Israel has mounted regular incursions in southern Syria since then, citing goals that include keeping militants away from the frontier.
The Israeli military said its troops came under fire from militants during an overnight operation to detain suspects belonging to a group it identified as the Jaama Islamiya. It described the raid as part of routine operations in the area in recent months.
The Israeli troops responded with fire "along with aerial assistance", the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that three of the wounded Israeli soldiers had severe injuries. "A number of terrorists were eliminated," it said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military carried out a fresh series of strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday, exactly a year into a ceasefire with the militant group.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft launched "a series of raids on Al-Mahmoudiya and Al-Jarmak", just north of the Litani River.
The November 27, 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between the two sides.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his country was "in a one-sided war of attrition that is escalating".
Earlier, the UN human rights rights office said on Friday it was appalled by the killing of two Palestinian men by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, saying the incident appeared to amount to summary executions.
"We're appalled by the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin in the occupied West Bank in yet another apparent summary execution," Jeremy Laurence told a UN briefing in Geneva.
The two men killed on Thursday appeared to be surrendering and unarmed during a raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine TV news footage showed.
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