Six Israeli soldiers were wounded — three of them seriously — during a predawn arrest operation in southern Syria on Friday, in one of the most volatile cross-border clashes since Israel reestablished a military presence inside the country last year.

The firefight erupted in the village of Beit Jinn, roughly seven kilometers east of the Israeli border, where troops from the IDF’s 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade moved in around 3 a.m. to detain two brothers linked to the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization. Israeli intelligence had tracked the pair for weeks, assessing that they were planning imminent attacks and noting their past involvement in rocket launches toward Israel.

The soldiers arrested the brothers in their beds. But as the unit began withdrawing with the suspects in custody, unknown gunmen opened fire — triggering a chaotic battle inside the village and drawing in the Israeli Air Force for close support.

IDF helicopters and drones quickly struck the attackers’ positions, with fighter jets hitting pre-selected targets in the broader Beit Jinn area. Syrian media claimed at least 13 people were killed in the strikes. The IDF said only that “several” gunmen were eliminated.

As the firefight intensified, gunmen concentrated their fire on an IDF Humvee, disabling the vehicle and forcing the soldiers inside to abandon it deep in Syrian territory. To prevent it from being captured, the Air Force later destroyed the Humvee from the air.

Among the wounded were two IDF officers and a reservist listed in serious condition; a fourth soldier was moderately hurt, and two others sustained light injuries. IAF helicopters evacuated the wounded to Israeli hospitals. Two of the gravely injured troops were taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where they are undergoing surgery before being moved to intensive care.

The IDF said an additional Syrian suspect who ran toward the Israeli forces amid the gun battle was also detained.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry denounced the operation as a “war crime” and accused Israel of escalating regional tensions. “Syria denounces the criminal aggression,” the ministry said, claiming Israel seeks to “ignite the region.”

The clash comes as Israel prepares for possible attacks from multiple armed factions in post-Assad Syria, including groups aligned with Iran and various Sunni and Shiite militias. Defense Minister Israel Katz warned this week that hostile forces in Syria are actively weighing incursions into the Golan Heights, and that Israel is “not on track” for any normalization or security arrangement with Damascus.

Katz said Iran-backed Houthi fighters from Yemen are among the factions operating in Syria, with intelligence suggesting they have explored the possibility of staging a ground assault into Israeli territory.

Israel has maintained nine military positions in southern Syria for nearly a year, most within the UN-patrolled buffer zone but with two outposts positioned on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. The IDF has been operating as far as 15 kilometers inside Syrian territory, seeking to disrupt weapons transfers and seize arms caches that could flow to “hostile forces.”

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, the faction targeted in Friday’s raid, is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood network and has fought alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon. Its armed wing, al-Fajr Forces, launched repeated attacks on Israel during last year’s fighting and maintains infrastructure in both Lebanon and Syria. Israeli officials say the group also works closely with Hamas in the region.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)