Israeli drone strikes on Tuesday targeted the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah, killing eight Syrian soldiers and wounding several others, in what Syrian authorities denounced as a grave violation of sovereignty and international law.

According to a statement from Syria’s Foreign Ministry, the soldiers were on a routine patrol in Kiswah when they uncovered Israeli surveillance and eavesdropping equipment. Before Syrian forces could secure the site, Israeli strikes intensified, preventing recovery operations until Wednesday evening. Troops later retrieved the bodies of the fallen soldiers and destroyed some of the surveillance devices.

The ministry condemned the attacks as a “clear breach of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” accusing Israel of pursuing destabilization policies that threaten regional security.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that late Wednesday, Israel launched additional airstrikes and a commando airdrop raid in the same area. Details of these operations remain unclear, but observers say the latest escalation underscores Israel’s expanding military campaign inside Syria.

Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israeli military activity in Syria has sharply increased. Over the past nine months, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes targeting military infrastructure, while also seizing a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria — moves that Damascus calls outright occupation.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the Kiswah strikes hit a strategic corridor linking Damascus to Sweida, a province that has recently seen violent clashes between pro-government forces and members of Syria’s Druze minority. Israel intervened in those clashes on behalf of the Druze, citing protection of the community — which includes Druze members serving in the Israeli military. Syrian officials, however, argue that Israel is exploiting sectarian divisions as a pretext for territorial expansion.

In a separate attack Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike near Quneitra killed one person, according to SOHR and Syrian broadcaster Al-Ikhbariah. Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, warning that repeated Israeli aggression endangers the prospects of peace in the region.

Despite repeated calls from Damascus to de-escalate, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on social media platform X that Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he described as a “security zone” in southern Syria. Katz claimed the measure was necessary to protect settlements in the occupied Golan Heights and Galilee, citing the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, as justification.

Syrian officials insist that the country’s new leadership does not seek confrontation with Israel but will defend its territorial integrity against foreign incursions. “The Syrian people remain steadfast in their resolve to protect their homeland,” the Foreign Ministry declared, urging the international community to hold Israel accountable for repeated violations of international law.

As Syria struggles to rebuild and stabilize after more than a decade of war and upheaval, observers warn that Israel’s expanding military footprint risks dragging the region into deeper instability. (ILKHA)