In a series of overnight air strikes, Israel has targeted locations in southern Syria, claiming responsibility for the military operation in response to projectiles that were reportedly fired from Syrian territory into Israeli airspace.

The strikes were carried out late Tuesday and early Wednesday, with reported aims to destroy weapons facilities belonging to the Syrian government.

The incidents follow the launch of two projectiles from Syria, which Israeli authorities have attributed to unidentified groups.

In response, Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz stated that he holds Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable for any threats directed at Israel.

Katz asserted that Israel would deliver a prompt and decisive response to any aggression.

Syria’s state media and security sources reported that Israeli air strikes targeted multiple sites in the Damascus countryside, as well as in the Quneitra and Daraa provinces.

The strikes came just days after a separate Israeli operation that resulted in civilian casualties near a village in western Syria — marking the first such attack in nearly a month.

In a statement, the Syrian foreign ministry denied the claims that any projectiles had been launched towards Israel, insisting that Syria does not pose a threat to regional stability.

It stated, "We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests."

Reports from various Arab and Palestinian outlets have linked the responsibility for the projectiles to a little-known group named Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades—an apparent reference to Hamas's military leader killed in a previous Israeli strike.

However, these claims remain unverified by independent sources.

Local sources in southern Syria reported that Israeli artillery had targeted the Wadi Yarmouk area, which borders the Golan Heights, also noting increased tensions in the region due to recent incursions by Israeli military forces into nearby villages.

Civilians in these areas have voiced concerns over restrictions on agricultural activities imposed by the Israeli military.

Israel has maintained a long-standing campaign of air strikes in Syria, citing its objective of dismantling the military infrastructure of groups it deems as threats.

Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the Six-Day War in 1967, an area it continues to control amid evolving security dynamics in the region following the upheaval in Syrian governance.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Shabani has described recent Israeli military actions as both a violation of international law and a provocation.

During a press conference in Damascus, he emphasized that Syria seeks peace rather than war, calling for respect for the disengagement agreement brokered in 1974 between Syria and Israel following the October War.

Furthermore, the newly established Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa has expressed a desire for international cooperation and dialogue.

The EU’s Mediterranean Commissioner, Dubravka Šuica, echoed support for a sovereign Syria in its reconstruction efforts, indicating potential collaboration as the context in the region evolves.

Amid these developments, U.S. officials, including Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barak, have engaged with Israeli leadership to discuss the implications of the situation in Syria and its effect on regional stability, emphasizing that Syria should not be utilized as a platform to threaten its neighbors, including Israel.