Israeli drone strikes rocked the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah, killing six Syrian soldiers and wounding others, according to Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack, part of a series of Israeli operations in Syria, targeted a strategic military point connecting Damascus to the southern province of Sweida, escalating tensions in a region already fraught with conflict. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, which come amid ongoing U.S.-mediated talks aimed at de-escalating tensions in southern Syria.

The strikes hit an area previously controlled by the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime’s military, with the Observatory noting that one attack struck after paramedics arrived, wounding three additional people. The targeted site, once a key post for Assad’s forces, lies near Sweida, where deadly clashes erupted last month between pro-government gunmen and Syria’s Druze minority. Israel intervened in those clashes, citing its obligation to protect the Druze, a community with significant ties to Israel, where many serve in the military.

Since Assad’s fall in December 2024, Israel has intensified its airstrikes across Syria, destroying military assets and seizing over 400 square kilometers of territory, including the demilitarized buffer zone near the Golan Heights, in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement. Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned a separate Israeli drone strike on Tuesday near Quneitra, which killed one person, labeling it a breach of international law that threatens regional stability. The ministry also criticized Israel’s incursion of 60 soldiers near Mount Hermon as a further violation of sovereignty.

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Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa denounced the strikes as “criminal and illegal,” vowing accountability for perpetrators. The attacks follow Israel’s broader campaign in Syria, including a July 2025 strike on the Syrian Defense Ministry, which killed three and wounded 34. Amid rising sectarian violence in Sweida, where 260 people, including 138 soldiers, were killed in July, Israel’s actions have drawn condemnation from the UAE and the Arab League for undermining regional peace.

As Israel expands its military presence, including holding Mount Hermon “indefinitely,” Syria faces growing challenges in stabilizing its new transitional administration, with fears of further escalation looming large.

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