ISTANBUL 

Syria on Monday strongly condemned an Israeli military incursion into the countryside of Damascus, urging the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to halt Israel’s actions.

In a statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry described the incursion in Beit Jinn town in the Damascus countryside, carried out by 11 military vehicles and nearly 60 soldiers, as a “grave threat to regional peace and security” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”

The ministry said the escalation represents “a direct threat to peace and regional stability,” warning that such practices undermine international efforts to restore security.

It also called on the UN Security Council to adopt “urgent and effective measures to deter Israel from its aggressive practices and ensure the protection of Syria’s sovereignty.”

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.

The new Syrian administration, in place since late December 2024, has not posed any threat to Israel, yet the Israeli military has repeatedly crossed into Syrian territory and carried out airstrikes that killed civilians and destroyed Syrian military sites and infrastructure.