New York Post: Israel plans to use air power to strike Syria

Israel is considering escalating its airstrikes on Syria after the raid on the village of Beit Jinn turned into a deadly skirmish that killed 13 people and wounded members of the Israeli army in clashes that took place on Friday.

Thirteen Syrians were killed in clashes that erupted in the southern part of Syria on Friday, when Israeli forces arrested two members of the Islamic Group from the village of Beit Jinn, about four miles from the eastern border of the Jewish state, according to state media.

Six Israeli soldiers, three of them in serious condition, were also wounded after being shot by Syrian gunmen while carrying out the operation.

The Israeli Air Force responded to the incident with fighter jets, helicopters and drones that carried out several strikes during the clash.

According to the New York Post, the Israeli military is currently considering escalating the attacks by aircraft if it’s found that members of the Syrian army took part in Friday’s exchange of fire, the agency reported.

According to the report, the IDF may move to reduce arrests of Syrians, or terrorist elements as Israel describes it, in favor of increasing destructive airstrikes in the area.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the criminal attack carried out by an Israeli occupation army patrol in Beit Jinn.

The targeting of the town of Beit Jinn by the Israeli occupation forces with brutal and deliberate shelling, following its failed incursion, constitutes a full-fledged war crime.

Meanwhile, 9 Israeli army posts were established inside Syria after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Most of these sites are located in the UN-controlled buffer zone that lies on the border between the two countries — although there are two outposts on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.