Israel Detains Suspected Iran-Backed Cell in Southern Syria Raid

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it captured members of a “terrorist cell operated by Iran” during an overnight raid in southern Syria.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, troops from the 474th Golan Brigade, the 210th Division and intelligence operatives from Unit 504 entered the villages of Umm al-Lux and Ain al-Batsali, about eight kilometres from the Israeli border, and apprehended several suspects. Soldiers also seized firearms and hand grenades. An IDF spokesman put the cell’s size at four men, while Syrian state television reported three arrests in the neighbouring village of al-Bassali.

The IDF said the operation followed weeks of interrogations and other intelligence gathering aimed at disrupting Iranian-backed activity along the frontier. Israel has intensified raids and airstrikes in the area since the December 2024 collapse of the Assad government and a 12-day war with Iran that ended last month.

Israeli officials said they will continue to act inside Syria to prevent what they describe as hostile entrenchment by Tehran and its proxies, even as U.S.-mediated efforts explore the possibility of normalising relations between Israel and Syria.