Israeli troops reportedly carried out a rare overnight ground operation near Damascus this week, striking a site in a suburb of the Syrian capital after Syrian forces uncovered surveillance and eavesdropping devices earlier in the week.
The raid, which lasted three hours, followed two nights of Israeli airstrikes near a Syrian military base in Kiswah, according to Syrian state media and security officials. At least six Syrian soldiers were killed.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the operation, but Defense Minister Israel Katz took to X on Thursday to underscore the country’s vigilance. “Our forces are operating in all of the theaters of battle day and night for the security of Israel,” he wrote.
Israel and Syria have fought three major wars over the past decades, and the two sides are now negotiating a security arrangement following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December.
Israeli officials say they remain wary of Syria’s new leadership, citing its past ties to jihadist groups, though Syrian leaders assert those connections have been severed.
“Israel is starting to acknowledge its military presence there is temporary and will be over soon if there’s a security pact,” said Carmit Valensi, head of the Syria program at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.
Valensi described the recent strikes as intended to protect Israeli intelligence-gathering devices from falling into Syrian hands while the negotiations continue.
Since Assad’s fall, Israeli forces have conducted numerous operations aimed at countering Iranian-backed forces and remnants of the Assad military that had built up in southern Syria over the past decade.
According to data compiled by analyst Charles Lister of Syria Weekly, Israel has carried out 421 ground incursions and 954 airstrikes in Syria since that time, many near the border, while expanding a security zone into Syrian territory.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the latest strikes as “a grave violation of international law” and “a clear breach” of Syrian sovereignty, but the regime has yet to respond militarily.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to engage diplomatically, with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Paris last week to discuss de-escalation. Arab officials briefed on the talks said the current negotiations aim to replace a 1974 bilateral security agreement that established a buffer zone along the border.
Israeli officials are also pushing for a humanitarian corridor to Sweida, where a significant Druze population resides. Israel, which has its own Druze minority, has pledged to protect the group.
Negotiations have further included Israeli requests that Turkey — which backs Syria’s new government — be barred from helping rebuild the Syrian army. Officials cite concerns that Turkish influence could trigger direct conflict with Israeli forces.
The Damascus raid represents the first publicly known Israeli ground operation far from southern, Israeli-occupied territory since Assad’s removal.
Before last September, Israel conducted a similar helicopter-borne raid in Masyaf to destroy an Iranian missile factory, demonstrating its willingness to strike decisively to protect national security interests.
For Israel, the recent series of airstrikes and ground operations illustrates a strategic priority: safeguarding its borders, preventing hostile actors from consolidating power near Damascus, and maintaining leverage in ongoing talks that could redefine Syria’s security landscape.
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