Streaming giant Spotify is down for several users globally, according to outage tracking platform Downdetector. The outage tracking platform has a spike around 8:04PM with over 1,200 users reporting problems with accessing the audio streaming platform in India
Israeli forces kill 13 in southern Syria operation
Israeli forces kill 13 in southern Syria operation
Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday (November 28, 2025) in an operation in southern Syria, saying they targeted an Islamist group, in Israel's deadliest attack on the country since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow last year.
Since an Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Assad in December of last year, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syria's military arsenal as well as incursions into the country.
The Israeli army said an exchange of fire in the operation to detain militants in the Syrian village of Beit Jin left six Israeli soldiers wounded, with three of them in a serious condition.
The official SANA news agency, quoting the Syrian Health Ministry, reported 13 dead and 24 more wounded in the Israeli operation.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the operation as a "war crime" and accused Israel of wanting to "ignite the region".
An AFP journalist saw several wounded people being taken to a hospital in Damascus, around 40 kilometres from the village.
"We were asleep when we were woken up at three in the morning by gunfire," wounded resident Iyad Taher told AFP at al-Mouwassat hospital in the Syrian capital.
We went outside to see what was happening and saw the Israeli army in the village, soldiers and tanks. Then they withdrew, the air force came, and the shells started falling. I was hit by shrapnel in the neck.
The Israeli army said the targets of the operation were fighters from the Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, which is based in neighbouring Lebanon and allied with Palestinian armed group Hamas.
"The suspects operated in the area of Beit Jin in southern Syria and advanced terror attacks against Israeli civilians," it said in a statement.
A local official told AFP that Israeli forces raided the village to capture three men, sparking clashes.
"Following the clashes, the Israeli occupation forces shelled the area with artillery and drones," village official Abdul Rahman al-Hamrawi said.
At the hospital, Mr. Rahman told AFP he and others "opened fire on the Israeli patrol to defend ourselves and stop them from taking us. My brother was killed, and I was wounded".
In Damascus and other major Syrian cities, demonstrators marking one year since the Islamist-led offensive that toppled Assad denounced Israel's attacks.
Banners in Damascus read "Beit Jin makes us proud" and "stop Israeli attacks".
United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi condemned Israel's attack, calling it "a grave and unacceptable violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity".
Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said Friday's (November 28, 2025) operation was "the deadliest incursion since Israel began conducting operations outside the buffer zone in southern Syria".
Israel sent troops into and beyond the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone, which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974, in the immediate aftermath of Assad's fall.
In June, Syria accused Israel of "abducting seven people" from Beit Jin and killing one civilian "as a result of direct gunfire on the residents".
Israel accused the people of being Hamas members.
Israel has occupied Syria's Golan Heights, a strategic mountain plateau, since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.
Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone, drawing a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region.
The premier has previously insisted that southern Syria be demilitarised following Assad's overthrow.
Israel's key backer the United States has been pushing for a security pact between Syria and Israel, part of President Donald Trump's goal to shore up the fragile Gaza ceasefire with a broader Middle East peace settlement.
While Syrian and Israeli officials have held repeated rounds of talks, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ruled out Syria joining the Abraham Accords, under which a handful of Arab countries have normalised ties with Israel.
He recently met with Mr. Trump and warned in a U.N. speech that Israel's persistent attacks put the region at risk, but backed diplomacy.
"In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue," he said.
Published - November 28, 2025 10:46 pm IST
Israel / Syria / unrest, conflicts and war
Source: The Hindu
Related Posts: Timothée Chalamet triggers backlash over ballet and opera remarks Bihar’s Ballot Box Opera Opens Today 11 security personnel injured after IED blast during anti-Maoist operations Sunny Deol Set To Play Hanuman In Mythological Pop-Opera Musical EPS Battles Crowd Of Former Loyalists In AIADMK’s Unending Soap Opera AI’s $440,000 goof up, Apple’s silent AI gains, and decoding Opera’s AI browser Dozens killed as Israeli special forces raid Lebanese village in search of 40-year-old remains Israeli Forces Step Up Operations In Southern Syria Israeli forces kill Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender 45 people waiting for aid trucks killed in Israeli shelling in Gaza
Streaming giant Spotify is down for several users globally, according to outage tracking platform Downdetector. The outage tracking platform has a spike around 8:04PM with over 1,200 users reporting problems with accessing the audio streaming platform in India
2 months ago
