Israeli forces conduct a nighttime raid in Syria to apprehend an Iranian-backed cell. (IDF)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a raid targeting “a cell that was operated by the Iranian ‘Quds’ Force in the Tel Kudna area of southern Syria,” the Israeli military said on July 7. It is the second time in two weeks that the IDF has carried out a raid targeting a group operating in Syria that it believes is backed by Iran and its Qods force, the expeditionary arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-QF). The IDF said that Israeli forces “apprehended several operatives who posed a threat in the area” in the latest operation.
On July 2, the IDF stated that it carried out a similar nighttime raid, which occurred “following intelligence obtained from 504th Unit investigations,” one of Israel’s key military intelligence units. The 504th, which focuses on gathering human intelligence (HUMINT), has been expanded since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
The IDF dispatched troops from its 3rd Brigade to conduct the latest raid. The 3rd Brigade operates under the 210th Division, which is responsible for defending the Golan border with Syria. The raid also included field investigators from the 504th Unit.
The IDF has bolstered the 210th Division since the fall of Syria’s Bashar al Assad regime on December 8, 2024. Israeli troops quickly moved into the border area of the 1974 ceasefire line with Syria and took over the peak of Mount Hermon. Over the last six months, the IDF has increased activity in Syria, carrying out raids and airstrikes. Israeli leaders have also demanded that all of southern Syria be demilitarized. Reports indicate that Israeli officials and officials of the new Syrian government have been in increased contact over the last two months in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa.
Tel Kudna, where the latest IDF raid took place, is a small Syrian village named after a nearby hill that rises above the 1974 ceasefire line. The area is less than a mile from the Israeli side of the Golan and two miles from the Israeli community of Keshet. A video posted by the IDF shows Israeli troops conducting the nighttime operation.
“Unlike in the past, where Iranians or Hezbollah operatives could also physically meet in Syria with the local Syrian residents who worked for them, it can be assumed that today, the guidance and operation is done from Iran and/or Lebanon,” The Alma Research and Education Center, which covers threats to northern Israel, noted in the wake of the second IDF raid. “At this stage, it is unclear whether these are newly recruited and activated cells following the fall of the Assad regime or former cells that were operating in the area prior to Assad’s fall. We can cautiously assess that it is more likely they are former cells, but this is not certain,” the organization concluded.
The raid on an IRGC-backed cell is one of several recent IDF activities in Syria. On July 4, the Israeli military said it eliminated Qasem Salah al Husseini, who it described as “a Lebanese terrorist who advanced terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops on the northern front on behalf of the Iranian Quds Force.”
Additionally, the IDF’s 810th Mountain Brigade, established in 2024, conducted operations on Mount Hermon in Syria. The IDF said on July 4 that the 810th had dismantled several former Syrian regime posts. “The brigade’s troops continue to proactively conduct operations in southern Syria to protect the residents of the State of Israel and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular.” Overall, the 210th Division continues to “prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist entity in Syria,” the IDF said on July 7.