Israel attacks on Syria: What happened, who did Israel claim it was after?

EXPLAINERIsrael killed 13 people, including two children, in strikes on Syria on Friday after locals resisted an incursion by the Israeli army.Published On 30 Nov 2025On Friday, Israel killed at least 13 people, including two children, in the Damascus countryside town of Beit Jinn.The latest air raids came after locals tried to repel an Israeli military incursion into Beit Jinn, leading to clashes.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Tens of thousands rally in Europe, demanding justice over Israel’s Gaza warlist 2 of 3Israel’s Netanyahu urges president to pardon corruption caseslist 3 of 3“Lack of resources” in Gaza leaves mothers strugglingend of listIsrael claimed it was going after members of the Jamaa al-Islamiya, Lebanon’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.However, rubbishing the Israeli claim, the group said it was not active outside Lebanon.Here’s everything you need to know about the attack in Beit Jinn and the context behind it.What happened?The Israeli army’s 55th Reserve Brigade raided Beit Jinn in the early hours of Friday morning, ostensibly to take three Syrians who live there, claiming they were members of Jamaa al-Islamiya and that they posed a “danger to Israel”.However, the incursion did not go to plan. Locals resisted, and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the resulting clashes, three of them seriously, according to the Israeli army.Israel then sent in its warplanes.“We were asleep when we were woken up at three in the morning by gunfire,” Iyad Daher, a wounded resident, told the AFP news agency from al-Mouwasat Hospital in Damascus.“We went outside to see what was happening and saw the Israeli army in the village, soldiers and tanks,” Daher said. “Then they withdrew, the air force came – and the shells started falling.”This was the deadliest of Israel’s more than 1,000 strikes on Syria since the fall of the Assad regimeWhy were Israeli forces in Syria?This was not the first time Israel raided Syrian territory.