Israeli Force Penetrates Syrian Territory to Thwart ‘Bombing Operation’

Israeli soldiers at a military post in the Golan Heights (AFP)
Israeli soldiers at a military post in the Golan Heights (AFP)
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Israeli Force Penetrates Syrian Territory to Thwart ‘Bombing Operation’

Israeli soldiers at a military post in the Golan Heights (AFP)
Israeli soldiers at a military post in the Golan Heights (AFP)

Tel Aviv announced on Monday that Israeli troops had entered Syrian territory in the Golan Heights to pursue a group of four male Syrians it accuses of planning an armed attack against its patrols.

In the operation, one of the Syrian suspects was seriously injured and was flown by a helicopter to receive treatment at an Israeli hospital near Tiberias. The other three perpetrators, however, managed to escape deeper into Syrian territory.

According to the Israeli account, four Syrian men approached the border in the heart of the occupied Golan and threw unknown objects towards a dirt route on which the Israeli army patrols.

It later turned out that the objects hurled on the road included a mine that did not explode.

An Israeli military force affiliated with the 402nd Artillery Brigade penetrated the border and opened live fire at the suspects as they fled the scene.

Israeli troops fired at the suspects without first confirming if they were armed or not.

According to a report made by the hospital treating the shot suspect, the wounded perpetrator was in a “serious and unstable” condition.

Moreover, the report revealed that the suspect was transferred to the operating room to undergo surgery.

The Israeli operation into Syrian territory is not the first of its kind. Israeli forces on the occupied side of the Golan heights have previously come under fire from the liberated Syrian territory in the Golan.

For their part, Israeli forces are known for firing at anyone who approaches the border.

In September 2018, the Israeli army announced that its soldiers had fired at a group of Syrian gunmen near the border wall in the Golan. The justification for the firing was that the Syrians came too close to Israeli soldiers.



Israel Proposes Hostage Deal as Fighting Continues in Gaza

Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Proposes Hostage Deal as Fighting Continues in Gaza

Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)

Israel has proposed an extended truce in Gaza in exchange for the return of about half the remaining hostages, Israeli officials said on Monday, as the military issued new evacuation orders and said "intense operations" were planned in the south of the enclave.

The latest proposals would leave open a final agreement over ending the Israel-Hamas war that has destroyed wide swathes of Gaza, killed tens of thousands of people and displaced almost the entire population since it began in October 2023.

But the proposals foresee the return of half the 24 hostages believed still to be alive in Gaza nearly 18 months after they were seized by Hamas-led gunmen - and about half the 35 assumed to be dead - during a truce lasting between 40 and 50 days, said the Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would step up pressure on Hamas but would continue negotiations "under fire". Continued military pressure was the best means of securing the return of the hostages, he said.

Netanyahu also repeated Israeli demands for Hamas to disarm although the Palestinian movement has rejected such calls as a "red line" it will not cross.

Netanyahu said Hamas leaders would be allowed to leave Gaza under a wider settlement that would include proposals from US President Donald Trump for the "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the narrow Strip.

EVACUATION ORDERS

On Monday, the Israeli military told Palestinians living in areas around the southern city of Rafah to relocate to Al Mawasi, an area on the shoreline.

"The Israeli army is returning to intense operations to dismantle the capabilities of the terrorist organizations in these areas," the military's Arabic language spokesperson said in a statement.

Hamas said at the weekend that it had accepted proposals made by Qatari and Egyptian mediators which security sources said would entail five hostages being released every week in exchange for a truce.

The Israeli military, which has cut off aid to Gaza, resumed operations on March 18 after a two-month truce, during which 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais were released in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Efforts to move to a second phase in the ceasefire agreement signed with U.S. backing in January have largely stalled, with no sign of movement to overcome fundamental differences between the two sides over the postwar future.

Israel has said Hamas' military and government capacity must be entirely dismantled and says the group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, can have no role in the future governance of the enclave.

Hamas says it is willing to step back to allow another Palestinian administration to take its place but has refused to disarm and says it must play a part in choosing whatever government follows.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following an attack by Hamas-led gunmen on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The military campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.