Israeli forces launch new ground operation in western rural Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria — The Israeli army launched a new ground operation on Tuesday toward the Tal al-Warda hill overlooking the town of Beit Jin in the western countryside of Damascus, near the border with the Golan Heights. A correspondent reported that Beit Jin lies roughly 30–35 kilometers from the Syrian capital by air and sits at Damascus's westernmost edge. The movement follows a pattern of repeated Israeli ground operations in Quneitra, the rural parts of Daraa and western Damascus countryside. Earlier in August, Israeli forces set up a temporary checkpoint with six armored vehicles and a Hilux-type truck at the Kisrat Jibat al-Hashab junction in rural northern Quneitra, stopping and searching civilians. The same day, Israeli troops entered the village of Marria in the Yarmouk Basin of western rural Daraa and searched several civilian homes. Israel has maintained operations inside Syrian territory since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. The Syrian side has called for a halt to the incursions and a return to the pre-existing ceasefire lines. Separately, Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the UN Security Council and the international community to take a firm stance following Israeli airstrikes targeting the Abu al-Zuhur military airport in Idlib.