‘Israel’ issues statement after rare airborne raid in Syria

‘Israel's’ defence minister said Thursday its forces were operating in "all combat zones", after Syrian state media reported a raid by ‘Israeli’ ground troops on a site it had already bombed outside Damascus.

Read more: 'Israeli' airstrikes kill, injure civilians in Damascus

"Our forces are operating in all combat zones day and night for the security of Israel," Israel Katz said on X, without elaborating. 

‘Israeli’ forces conducted a rare airborne raid in Syria late Wednesday, landing at a military site about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) south of Damascus.

The raid was part of a raid on a location that had been subjected to repeated ‘Israeli’ airstrikes over the past two days, according to Syrian state media.

Syrian and ‘Israeli’ Accounts of the Raid

‘Israel's’ military did not confirm the airdrop explicitly.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the raid occurred at a military site on Jabal al-Maneh, following two days of airstrikes.

A Syrian government source told SANA that six Syrian soldiers were killed in the initial attack on Tuesday after they discovered ‘Israeli’ surveillance equipment at the site.

The source said that subsequent ‘Israeli’ airstrikes and drone attacks prevented Syrian forces from accessing the area until late Wednesday evening.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights identified the site as a large missile depot previously used by the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The Observatory also reported that four ‘Israeli’ helicopters flew low to drop troops for a search operation.

It is the first ‘Israeli’ raid of its kind in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Since the overthrow of the Assad regime, ‘Israel’ has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria.

The ‘Israeli’ military claimed its actions are aimed at preventing military arsenals from falling into the hands of Syria’s new authorities, as well as conducting incursions in southern Syria.