The Israeli military said it aborted a planned overnight strike in southern Syria after identifying the targets as Israeli civilians rather than suspected intruders.
The individuals were Jewish Israelis who had crossed into Syria and were returning to Israel, according to the military.
The incident, first reported by Israel's public broadcaster and confirmed to The Associated Press by the military, has drawn attention to a fringe illegal Israeli settler group whose members have repeatedly crossed into southern Syria in recent weeks in an effort to establish illegal Jewish settlements.
Israel's military has occupied parts of southern Syria for more than a year, but civilian incursions have become more frequent only recently.
The groups, whose members number in the dozens, have attempted to cross into Syria every few days in recent weeks. The military has been tasked with stopping them.
While most Israelis regard them as a fringe movement, the broader settlement enterprise enjoys support from figures in the country's far-right government.
'Pioneers of Bashan'
The most prominent group behind the incursions is known as Pioneers of Bashan.
Formed early last year, the right-wing activist group seeks to establish illegal Jewish settlements in southern Syria. Its name refers to the biblical region of Bashan, which included parts of present-day southern Syria and northern Jordan.
The group has focused on the southwestern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida.
Part of the area, including the summit of Mount Hermon, lies within a so-called buffer zone Israel declared in December 2024 after the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al Assad.
Members of the group claim a historical right to the land and argue that Jewish settlements would strengthen Israel's control of the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and later annexed — a move not recognised by most of the international community.
Some members also claim that illegal Israeli settlements would help protect Syria's Druze minority following deadly violence last year involving Druze groups, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Syrian government forces.
Amos Azaria, one of the group's so called leaders, said it aims to establish a "humanitarian corridor" linking Israel with the Druze-majority province of Sweida by depopulating adjacent Sunni-majority areas.
"The entire Daraa district ... must be cleared of the enemies seeking our destruction and instead be filled with Jewish settlement," said Azaria, a computer science professor at Ariel University in the occupied West Bank.
Repeated border crossings
The group's immediate goal is to establish a Jewish outpost in southern Syria near the occupied Golan Heights.
In settler terminology, an outpost is an unofficial settlement established in the hope it will later receive government approval. Many Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank began this way.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the occupied Golan Heights are considered illegal under international law.
So far, the group's incursions have been brief, with the Israeli military removing settlers before they could establish a permanent presence.
Videos posted on the group's X account show Israeli soldiers removing settlers who had linked arms after crossing into Syria, while another video filmed near the Syrian village of Hader shows supporters waving Israeli flags as troops stand nearby.
Military distances itself
The Israeli military says the extremist group's actions interfere with military attacks and undermine security.
It says civilians caught crossing the border are detained and handed over to police, adding that it expects law enforcement authorities "to bring those involved to justice."
Israel's Channel 12 reported last week that no indictments have been filed.
Group members say they have support from within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Social media posts show meetings with cabinet ministers Amihai Eliyahu and Shlomo Karhi.
"We have support from friends in the government and many members of the Knesset," Azaria said.
Regional concerns
Syrian officials have not publicly commented on the settler incursions.
Damascus has instead focused on condemning Israel's occupation in southern Syria and repeatedly called for Israeli forces to withdraw.
Israeli troops have also carried out attacks beyond the declared buffer zone, at times clashing with local residents seeking to block their advance.
Lebanon has similarly paid little public attention to another fringe Israeli settler group, Uri Tzafon ("Awaken, O North"), whose members have attempted to enter southern Lebanon.
Still, some officials have warned against dismissing such groups.
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri wrote on X that while Uri Tzafon remained "a small and fringe group" whose members withdrew under Israeli military orders, the West Bank settlement movement also began with a small group of religious activists before expanding significantly.
