Israel continues attacks on Syria, Lebanon despite US push for diplomacy

What the report says

Israeli forces continued artillery fire, air strikes, ground raids and demolitions in parts of Syria and Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera, even as US-backed diplomatic efforts seek to reduce cross-border fighting. The report says the latest Israeli shelling in Syria hit a hill near Beit Jinn in the western Damascus countryside, while Syrian media said troops also entered and searched a house in Taranja in Quneitra province.

Al Jazeera reported that the violence in Syria comes after recent US-mediated talks in Jordan between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli intelligence officials. Damascus says those discussions are aimed at stopping what it describes as repeated Israeli attacks and arrests inside Syria. The article also notes that Israel has carried out many strikes in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was removed from power in December 2024 and has moved troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone near the occupied Golan Heights.

In Lebanon, the report says Israeli strikes hit several towns in the south, including al-Mansouri, Sarbine, Beit Lif and Yater, while artillery targeted Wadi Zibqin. Israeli forces also continued demolishing property in southern Lebanon, and drones were seen flying low over Beirut and its southern suburbs. The article places these attacks within a US-brokered framework meant to end hostilities, and says the continuing strikes have deepened debate in Beirut over whether diplomacy can deliver a lasting ceasefire.