Violence in border regions indicates an increase in friction between Israel and Syria.
At least six people have been killed in an Israeli attack on Koya in southern Syria, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Israeli forces said the attack occurred Tuesday after armed fighters fired at Israeli forces without specifying whether they were within Syrian territory when they were targeted. The army returned the fire and said Israeli fighters had attacked the fighter. He did not elaborate on the victim, but said, “A hit was identified.”
Syrian Foreign Ministry accused them of “continuing Israeli invasion of Syrian territory.”
It called for international investigation into Israel’s attacks on Israeli territory, describing them as “a blatant violation of its sovereignty.”
Palestinian group Hamas denounced the attack on Koya “in the strongest terms.”
“The fascist attacks were a serious escalation of Zionist violations against the Syrian Arab Republic and its siblings, he said on Telegram on Tuesday.
Violence in border regions occurs during a period of rising tensions between Israel and Syria. There, a new interim government led by President Ahmad Al-Sharara was set up after opposition fighters defeated former leader Bashar al-Assad in December last year.
With the removal of Al-Assad, Israel said it would launch hundreds of airstrikes at Syrian military locations, sending troops across the border into unintimidated buffer zones to stop the threat. Syrian leadership has said it is not intending to open a front against Israel.
Previously, Israeli forces “stricken the remaining military capabilities of Tadmar and T4’s Syrian military bases,” pointing to the Palmyra bases and 50 km (30 miles) west of the city. On Friday, the military took a strike at the same base.
Kaja Karas, the European Union’s foreign policy director, warned on Tuesday that Israel would “prohibit further escalation” against Syria.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saa, the two said they discussed Israeli actions.
“And we [the EU] Syria is not currently attacking Israel, so I feel these things are unnecessary,” Karas said.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry also denounced Tuesday’s invasion and artillery fire as “dangerous escalations” that risked promoting “more conflict and tensions in the region.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria, adjacent to the height of Golan, annexed with Israel.
Syrian Gaia Pedersen’s UN envoy told the Security Council on Tuesday “we are concerned about Israel’s statement regarding its intention to remain in Syria,” demanding that the South be fully demilitarized.
At an Arab summit in Cairo in early March, Syrian Alshara pressured the international community to “quickly” withdraw troops from southern Syria, calling it a “direct threat” to regional peace.
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