Israel Confirms Ground Operation in Southern Syria, Seizes Weapons and Detains Suspects
Israel conducts a ground raid into southern Syria, seizes weapons & detains suspects near Golan. IDF says operation targeted arms smugglers in Hader area, vows to prevent militant entrenchment post-Assad.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Israeli military confirmed on Sunday that its ground forces had conducted a cross-border raid into southern Syria overnight, detaining individuals suspected of weapons smuggling and seizing a cache of arms, in what marks one of the latest operations since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last December.
According to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on platform X, Israeli troops “completed a mission involving on-site questioning of several suspects involved in weapons trafficking in the Hader area in southern Syria,” adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“Troops entered four locations simultaneously and located numerous weapons that the suspects had been trafficking,” the IDF added. Footage shared by the Israeli military showed soldiers in armored vehicles conducting the nighttime operation on foot.
Four Simultaneous Targets: IDF Troops Confiscated Weapons in Southern Syria.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 3, 2025
Our troops entered 4 locations simultaneously and located numerous trafficked weapons after on-site questioning of several suspects involved in weapons trafficking in the Hader area in southern Syria… pic.twitter.com/OdwjOFNlqT
The Israeli military emphasized that its forces remain stationed in the area “continuing to operate and prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist elements in Syria, with the aim of protecting Israeli civilians, and in particular, the residents of the Golan Heights.”
Since the Islamist-led uprising that toppled Assad late last year, Israel has intensified its operations along the Syrian frontier, citing the need to prevent weapons transfers and militant entrenchment.
Following Assad’s downfall, Israel deployed units to the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces along the Golan Heights—a line held since their 1973 war.
Strikes, Surveillance, and Strategic Objectives
In July, the Israeli military carried out aerial bombardments against Syrian government forces in both Damascus and Sweida province. Israel stated that these strikes were aimed at protecting the Druze community during a spike in sectarian violence in the south.
However, diplomatic sources and regional analysts argue that Israel's broader objective is to degrade the remaining Syrian military infrastructure and prevent the forces of the post-Assad authorities—whom Israel views as jihadist—from gaining a foothold near its borders.
Since December, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes targeting military sites across Syria, claiming the operations are necessary to intercept weapons that could otherwise empower hostile factions in the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated Israel’s demand for the complete demilitarization of southern Syria, underscoring a security doctrine focused on creating a buffer zone devoid of hostile armed elements along the Israeli-Syrian frontier.
