Syria accused Israel on Thursday of mounting a deadly destabilisation campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion killed 13 people.

Israel said it responded to fire from gunmen during an operation in southern Syria and warned interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa that he would face severe consequences if its security was threatened.

Israel has carried out an extensive bombing campaign against Syrian military assets since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in November.

It has also carried out ground incursions into southern Syria in a bid to keep the forces of the new government back from the border.

Authorities in the southern province of Daraa said nine civilians were killed and several wounded in Israeli shelling near the city of Nawa.

The provincial government said the bombardment came amid Israel's deepest ground incursion into southern Syria so far.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead were local gunmen who were killed "while attempting to confront Israeli forces, following calls by the mosques in the area for........

© International Business Times