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Local media reports and the Syrian official news agency (SANA) confirmed that the Israeli military operation and subsequent heavy shelling, which included artillery and missiles, resulted in the death of 13 Syrians, including children and women, with at least 25 civilians injured. Six of the deceased were reported to be from a single family.
A Syrian medical source told Al-Jazeera that 13 people were killed in the Israeli aggression on Beit Jann. Medical reports indicated that the bodies of six of those killed and 11 of the wounded were transferred to Al-Mowasat Hospital in Damascus, with three other injured persons taken to Qatana Hospital.
The incursion began when the Israeli force was reportedly attempting to detain a resident. It was quickly surrounded by armed local residents, triggering a two-hour-long firefight. Israeli public broadcasting reported that the Israeli military was forced to use artillery and drones to rescue its besieged soldiers during the intense confrontation.
The Israeli force sustained significant casualties during the fighting, Al-Mayadeen reported.
The military officially stated that six soldiers were injured, three of them seriously, though Israeli news outlets suggested the number of wounded soldiers was as high as 13, with three still critically wounded.
The intensity of the fighting was such that Israeli media confirmed that soldiers fled the area, leaving behind a disabled military vehicle (a Hummer). The Israeli Air Force was later compelled to bomb the abandoned vehicle to prevent its capture.
The Air Force, which was scrambled to the scene, was initially unable to execute direct strikes due to the extreme proximity between its soldiers and the armed local residents during the close-quarters engagement.
Local Syrian sources reported intensive overflights by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft over Beit Jann and the western Damascus countryside as the incident unfolded.