Israeli drone strike wounds driver in Syria's Beit Jinn
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An Israeli drone strike on a delivery truck near Beit Jinn in southwestern Syria wounded a civilian driver on Saturday. Syria's foreign ministry condemned the attack as a 'flagrant violation of sovereignty' and a 'blatant breach of international law'. The Israeli military said it targeted a terrorist preparing attacks against its forces.
Key Facts
- The strike hit a small delivery truck on the main road between Beit Jinn farmland and the town, wounding a driver who is in stable condition with an injury to his right hand.
- Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the attack resulted in several civilian injuries and condemned it as a 'flagrant violation of sovereignty'.
- The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it targeted 'a terrorist who advanced terror attacks in their final stages of preparation' in southern Syria.
- Residents reported Israeli reconnaissance drones flying over the area for four days before the strike, according to Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Adham Abu al-Hussam.
- Beit Jinn, roughly 55km from Damascus, was hit in a late November raid that killed 13 civilians, Abu al-Hussam said.
The Strike
An Israeli drone hit a small delivery truck on the main road between the Beit Jinn farmland and the town itself, according to Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Adham Abu al-Hussam reporting from the area. Neighbours rushed a wounded man to hospital after hearing the explosion, and a medical source said he is in stable condition with an injury to his right hand. Residents said the victim is a civilian who works as a driver delivering goods and orders on the truck. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating it targeted 'a terrorist who advanced terror attacks in their final stages of preparation' in southern Syria. The military added that the activity 'posed an immediate threat to our forces'.
Syrian Condemnation
Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said Saturday's strike resulted in several civilian injuries. The ministry condemned 'in the strongest terms' the targeting of a 'civilian vehicle' by an Israeli drone. It called the attack 'a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the integrity of its territory, and a blatant breach of international law'. The ministry said the strike 'comes in the context of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory'.
Israeli Security Rationale
Muhsen al-Mustafa, a security and strategic researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies in Damascus, said the attack could be Israel sending Syria's government a message. He said Israel currently treats Syria, particularly the south, as a security zone it is trying to fill any vacuum in. Al-Mustafa noted that Israel used a similar rationale days earlier when it struck Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib province, saying the aim was to prevent a Turkish military presence there. Beit Jinn, which lies near Jabal al-Sheikh and roughly 55km from Damascus, has been repeatedly targeted in the past year, including in a late November raid that killed 13 civilians, Abu al-Hussam said.
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Israeli drone strike wounds driver in Syria's Beit Jinn
