Israeli army carries out raids near Damascus, conducts drills

Israeli forces this week launched what has been described as a large-scale raid near the Syrian capital, Damascus, lasting several hours and involving helicopters and armoured vehicles. 

According to Arab media reports, Israeli special forces used three helicopters to carry out a landing operation in the Yaafour area, located approximately 10 kilometres from Damascus.

The troops targeted a site linked to the former regime's Republican Guard. 

Al Mayadeen, citing unnamed sources, reported that "the search operation lasted for five hours before the force departed via helicopter." The outlet added that "another Israeli force entered the village of Saysoun in the Yarmouk Basin area of the western Deraa countryside, with six military vehicles".

At the same time, Israeli ground troops launched incursions into Rakhlah, in the western countryside of Damascus. 

Additional units reportedly entered Ayn Dhakar, also located in the Yarmouk Basin, with Al Mayadeen quoting sources who described the incursion as the first of its kind.

Separately, Israeli troops have established a new military base on Eastern al-Ahmar hill in Quneitra governorate, southern Syria, according to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which cited local sources.

The hill lies adjacent to an existing Israeli base on the western side of the same ridge, which was set up several months ago. 

Israeli forces are "rapidly working to turn it into a key operational hub", the sources told Al-Akhbar. 

Since the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has expanded its military presence across southern Syria.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Israeli forces carried out at least 22 ground incursions into the governorates of Quneitra, Rif Dimashq, and Daraa between 9 June and 5 July 2025.  

The SNHR stated that Israeli troops "entered the areas without prior announcement, sparking a state of anticipation and anxiety among the local population", and added that "these incursions are an extension of repeated Israeli military operations aimed at imposing a new security reality through ground incursions that threaten civilian stability".

Israel’s growing military expansion in Syria comes amid reported negotiations between Tel Aviv and Damascus, and speculation around a potential normalisation deal. 

On Wednesday, The Times of Israel reported that Syrian businessman Shadi Martini addressed the Knesset in Jerusalem, despite mounting criticism over Israel's war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon and Syria. The businessman revealed that he had held an "interesting meeting" with President al-Sharaa roughly two weeks before his visit.  

Martini told Israeli lawmakers that the interim Syrian leader viewed the push for peace with Israel as a rare proposal, calling it an opportunity that presents itself "one time every 100 years".