JERUSALEM: Six Israeli soldiers were wounded overnight in an operation in southern Syria to arrest suspects from the Lebanese Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, the military said Friday.
The Hamas-aligned group is also closely linked to the Hezbollah militant group, with a presence in both Lebanon and Syria.
"The suspects operated in the area of Beit Jin in southern Syria and advanced terror attacks against Israeli civilians," Israel's military said in a statement.
It added that six soldiers were injured in an exchange of fire, three of them seriously.
After the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 and the arrival of the new Islamist leadership in Damascus, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria.
Israel swiftly sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone, which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974.
Israel has occupied Syria's Golan Heights since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.
In a resolution passed on November 6, the UN Security Council reaffirmed its strong backing for Syria's "sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity".
During the summer, high-level contacts between Israeli and Syrian officials took place, with the help of Paris and Washington.
Both sides indicated their desire to reach a security agreement.