Israel launches deadly attack on southern Syria amid troop build-up
At least five people were killed on Tuesday in Israeli shelling of the southern Syrian province of Daraa, local authorities said.
Provincial authorities, in a statement shared on Telegram, reported a provisional toll of five people killed in the bombardment of the town of Kwayya, west of Daraa, adding that residents had fled Israeli tank shelling.
Officials also said that Israeli troops were seen taking up positions in the area.
The statement by the Syrians came after Israel announced air strikes on Syrian air bases near the city of Palmyra in the Homs province.
Following the reports of bombings in Daraa, the Israeli army said that it carried out air strikes on Syria in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line.
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"[Israeli army] troops identified several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria," the military said, without providing evidence.
"The troops returned fire in response and the IAF [air force] struck the terrorists. Hits were identified."
'Attempt to arrest youths'
Omar Alhariri, an independent journalist based in Daraa, said on X that the Israeli army’s ongoing troop mobilisation on the town’s outskirts and intense shelling of the area on the town has so far killed over seven people and injured dozens.
"The claims circulated by Israeli military media about an attack on their forces in Kwayya town, western Daraa countryside, are false," Alhariri said.
"The truth is that they initiated the aggression by attempting to arrest youths from Kwayya, who resisted this patrol."
The journalist added that the Israeli army has also ordered all residents to evacuate the town immediately.
Since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in early December, the Israeli army has been carrying out regular air raids and ground incursions into Syria, sometimes injuring and killing residents of southern Syria.
Israeli officials have regularly threatened Syria’s new rulers, calling for a demilitarisation of the country’s south and claiming the new rulers are a threat to the Druze minority.
Syrians across the country, including Druze in the south, have firmly rejected Israel’s statements and military actions.
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