Israeli incursion in Damascus countryside kills 12 Syrians: State media

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

44% : Israeli military incursions have become more brazen, more frequent and more violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
44% : But instead of seeking to start on a new path with Syria, Israel has doubled down on its bombing campaign and increased the number of strikes this year, including in the capital, Damascus, leading to the deaths of several Syrian soldiers and hitting the Ministry of Defence.
38% : Described by Israel as security operations, Syrian authorities and human rights groups refer to such incidents as abductions or unlawful arrests.
37% : Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's appearance with Israel's troops in illegally occupied territory in southern Syria angered Damascus, and raised further doubts over whether a security deal between the two countries can be agreed.
36% : The Israeli military added that while the operation has been "completed" and all suspects were either arrested or "eliminated", its forces are still being deployed in the area "and will continue to operate against any threat" to Israel.
35% : At least 12 people, including children, have been killed as Israel launched another incursion into Syrian territory in the Damascus countryside, according to state media, with several Israeli soldiers also reported wounded in clashes.
26% : However, following the fall of al-Assad, Israel violated a 1974 agreement and again invaded its neighbour's territory, occupying more land along the border as part of a "buffer zone", including the strategically vital summit of Jabal al-Sheikh. Israel was already bombing Syria before the fall of al-Assad, an ally of its regional enemy Iran.
24% : Akiva Eldra, an Israeli political analyst, told Al Jazeera that some in Israel see "any kind of instability" at its border with Syria as a justification to start a military operation and establish what he termed as a "security zone". Israel seized territory in the Syrian Golan Heights following the 1967 war and has held it ever since.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.