ISRAEL launched a drone attack on a vehicle in south-western Syria on Saturday, wounding several people.

The violence came after the US envoy to Damascus accused Israel of carrying out an earlier attack on a north-western airbase, as a means of “baiting” Turkey.

Syria’s Alikhbariya channel reported on Saturday that an Israeli drone hit a civilian vehicle near the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, wounding a man.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates slammed the attack on the civilian vehicle “in the strongest terms.”

In a statement the ministry said: “This attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the integrity of its territory and a blatant breach of international law – and comes in the context of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory.” 

Israel’s military confirmed the strike, claiming it had targeted “a terrorist who advanced terror attacks in their final stages of preparation” in southern Syria. 

The activity “posed an immediate threat to our forces” the military added.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against Syria since the ousting of its former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Israel has also sent troops into the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that divides Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.

Last Tuesday it launched an attack on the Abu al-Duhur air base in north western Idlib province, claiming Turkey had been attempting to set up a military presence there.

Damascus and Ankara both deny the accusation.

In a rare rebuke for Israel, United States special envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkey, on Friday slammed the attack as an “unnecessary escalation.” 

Mr Barrack said the strike may have been intended to provoke a conflict with Turkey ahead of the upcoming general elections in Israel.

“One theory is they were just baiting Turkey, and it’s a very aggressive, but maybe well-received, pre-election concept,” Mr Barrack said in an interview with influencer Mario Nawfal.

The ambassador also said Israel did not warn the US before the strike.

Israel’s far-right Defence Minister Israel Katz contradicted Mr Barrack’s claim that there had been no warning, however, saying in a statement that Tel Aviv decided to alert senior members of the Syrian government. 

“Simultaneously, we transferred the intelligence reports to the relevant authorities in the US,” he added.