The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike in southern Syria, stating it acted after gunmen opened fire toward Israeli soldiers. The clash occurred in the Yarmouk Basin area, a triangle of Syrian territory between the Golan and Jordan. The IDF said it had identified “several terrorists” and “Hits were identified.” The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said four civilians were killed. This reported death toll may have wider ramifications, marking one of the most significant clashes between the IDF and Syrians since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime.
The fight on March 25 took place near the village of Kuwaya, around a mile from Israel’s Golan border. The village sits on the Yarmouk River, downstream from the Al Wehda dam on the Jordanian border. Syrian state media claimed the IDF had “penetrated the town amid intense reconnaissance flights” and that Israel “bombed” the village and tanks fired shells that killed “four civilians, wounding others, including a woman.”
Iranian state media also reported on the clash, claiming seven people were killed. It appears that pro-Iran media outlets across the region have highlighted this incident, apparently to increase tensions with Israel. This coverage includes reports from Al Mayadeen, a pro-Iranian Lebanese channel, and Al Manar, Hezbollah’s media arm. Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned “the ongoing Israeli aggression on Syrian territory, which saw a dangerous escalation in Koya [Kuwaya] town in Daraa.” The Kingdom of Jordan also reportedly condemned the Israeli strike.
The clashes happened around the Yarmouk Basin, which was controlled by the Islamic State affiliate Jaysh Khalid ibn Walid between 2016–2018, and several other rebel groups previously. The routinely contested area is the furthest point from Damascus in Daraa Governorate. The new Syrian government has sought to extend its control to southern Syria and the border crossings with Jordan over the past months.
The recent strike in southern Syria is the latest IDF operation that is part of a wider policy Israel has enacted since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024. The IDF initially moved into a buffer zone along the border with Syria, a series of ceasefire lines dating from 1974 that separated Israeli forces from the Syrian regime. When the Assad regime collapsed, the IDF entered the zone and began erecting posts and carrying out ground patrols. The Israel Air Force has also attacked sites previously held by the Assad regime, removing what the IDF says are potential threats.
Since late February, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have demanded that southern Syria be demilitarized. On February 25, the IDF carried out strikes in southern Syria, including one that hit Tell al Hara, a former Syrian regime position on a small mountain. The Assad regime, along with its backers in Moscow and Tehran, had used these types of sites for surveillance, especially after the regime returned to the border with the Golan in 2018 after defeating Syrian rebels in the area. On March 4, the IDF raided Tell al Mall, another hill fort several kilometers from the border. These operations have essentially cut off access to the border area.
The strikes in Syria have continued weekly. On March 17, the IDF struck more sites linked to the former regime in Daraa province. The latest targets were the airfield and bases near Palmyra in the Syrian desert, hit on March 21 and between March 24 and 25. Iranians used the T-4 base there to move weapons into Syria over the last decade. The Iranians left when the Assad regime fell, but it appears some military assets remained.
The IDF has also been increasingly active on the ground in Syria. Elements of the Paratroopers Brigade, along with tanks and combat engineers, have conducted missions in the last few weeks. These forces are under the command of the IDF’s 474th Brigade, part of the 210th Division, territorial units responsible for defending the Golan. The IDF said on March 25 that the paratroopers and combat engineers from the IDF’s Yahalom unit raided locations in southern Syria, finding “explosives, ammunition, mortar shells, military vests, combat equipment, munitions and bullets.”
