Israel Kills Six in Southern Syria, Syrian Ministry Says

People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
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Israel Kills Six in Southern Syria, Syrian Ministry Says

People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
People evacuate the town of Kuya in the western countryside on the Syrian border with Israel, after Israeli forces shelled the town, Syria, 25 March 2025. (EPA)

An Israeli attack killed six people in southern Syria on Tuesday, Syria's foreign ministry said, after the Israeli military said its troops had clashed with gunmen who had opened fire on them.

Israeli troops occupying the area clashed with local residents, Syrian state media and a war monitor reported.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said troops fired back at gunmen who attacked them, before launching a drone attack.

Syrian state-run news agency SANA said several people were wounded, including a woman.

The Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at seven. The observatory and a town resident told The Associated Press that clashes had erupted between Israeli troops and residents when the Israeli troops fired.

The violence in the border area marks increased friction between Israel and Syria, where a new leadership has been installed after opposition factions ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Israel says it will not tolerate an armed presence in southern Syria and has sent its troops into Syria's border zone. Syria's leadership has said it does not intend to open a front against Israel.

The Israeli military said militants in southern Syria opened fire toward Israeli troops, without specifying whether the Israeli troops were within Syrian territory when they were targeted.

It said its troops returned fire and that an Israeli warplane struck the militants. It gave no details on casualties but said "hits were identified".

Syria's foreign ministry said six people had been killed in the attack on Koya, a town in the southern province of Daraa, adding that the toll was expected to rise due to serious injuries sustained from the attack.

It has called for an international investigation into the Israeli attacks on its territory, describing them as a "blatant violation of its sovereignty".

Earlier, Israel said it had attacked two military bases, Tadmur and T4, in Homs province in central Syria.

Israel spent years carrying out airstrikes on Syria during Assad's rule, targeting Iran-linked military installations and weapons transfers from Tehran intended for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

That arms route was cut when Assad was toppled but Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Syrian military bases.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Tuesday that Israel's strikes into Syria "risk further escalation".

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar, Kallas said the pair had discussed Israel's actions.

"And we (the EU) feel that these things are unnecessary, because Syria is right now not attacking Israel," Kallas said.

The foreign ministry also urged Syrian people to reject any attempts to displace them or "enforce any new realities on the ground".



US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

The United States targeted two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators with new sanctions on Thursday for their role in coordinating financial transfers to the Lebanese group that is backed by Iran, the Treasury Department said.

The latest sanctions come as President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms.

Trump said Wednesday that he believed the moment was ripe for Lebanon to have a “future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.”

The people targeted were based in Lebanon and Iran and worked to get money to Hezbollah from overseas donors, the department said in a statement.

Treasury said overseas donations make up a significant portion of the group's budget.

Thursday's action highlights Hezbollah's "extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."