Syria's interior ministry said an Israeli overnight incursion killed one civilian and abducted seven people on Thursday, with the Israeli army saying it seized members of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Israeli army said on X that its soldiers seized several suspected members of Palestinian militant group Hamas in a "targeted" operation in Beit Jinn, 12 kilometers (seven and a half miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration, which it regards as jihadist.
It has also deployed troops across the demilitarized zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan.
Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that "these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. Tese practices cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in further tension and turmoil".
The Israeli military said troops carried out a "targeted, intelligence-based nighttime operation in Syria and apprehended several Hamas terrorists".
It alleged that those seized were plotting attacks on Israeli troops.
The Syrian interior ministry said that Israeli soldiers abducted seven people and fired directly at the villagers, killing one civilian.
The raid comes days after the Israeli army said it "struck a Hamas terrorist in the area of Mazraat Beit Jinn", which neighbors Beit Jinn.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one person was killed in the attack.
In early June, Israel reported rocket fire from Syrian-held territory towards the Israeli-occupied Golan, the first since Assad's overthrow, and retaliated with a series of strikes on the country.
Since taking over in December, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said repeatedly that Syria does not want conflict with its neighbors, urging international pressure on Israel to halt its attacks.
With AFP
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