📰 4 sources 23 articles · 26 Oct 2026, 21:18 → 17 days ago

Jordan launches 'Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud' operation in southern Syria in retaliation for Karak church attack

Jordan's Royal Air Force carried out an air operation in southern Syria on Monday evening named 'Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud', targeting sites and vehicles of armed groups in retaliation for an attack on a church in Karak. The Jordanian army said the operation was conducted in coordination with the Syrian government and inflicted deaths and injuries among the 'organizations', while SANA quoted Daraa's health director as saying five civilians including women and children were killed, and the Syrian government denied any prior coordination. A Jordanian minister later said the strikes targeted ISIS and killed more than 20 members, and Damascus and Amman announced work on a joint security committee.

📍 Where things stand: The situation remains tense: Damascus continues to reject the strikes as an 'unacceptable violation' and denies prior coordination, while Amman speaks of targeting ISIS and of coordination, and work is under way to form a joint security committee to end the violations.

⏱️ Timeline

26 Oct 2026, 21:18 Sky News reported hearing explosions and seeing columns of smoke rising near the Jordanian-Syrian border, likely caused by an airstrike.
26 Oct 2026, 21:23 The Jordanian Armed Forces announced that Royal Air Force jets destroyed a number of sites it described as terrorist in southern Syria, without details on the nature or location of the targets or the extent of losses; the army said the operation came in retaliation for the victims of the Karak church attack, while the air force said many members of 'terrorist organizations' were killed and wounded.
26 Oct 2026, 21:48 The Jordanian army announced that the air operation targeting extremist groups in southern Syria was carried out in coordination with the Syrian government.
26 Oct 2026, 22:09 The Jordanian Armed Forces announced that the operation was named 'Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud' and targeted sites and vehicles of armed organizations, inflicting deaths and injuries among them, in response to the attack that targeted the Hamoud church in Karak last Friday; it affirmed that the perpetrators of the Karak attack are linked to the organizations targeted inside Syrian territory.
26 Oct 2026, 22:46 The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the Daraa health director as saying that five civilians, including women and children, were killed in strikes by Jordanian aircraft on sites in the Daraa countryside in southern Syria.
26 Oct 2026, 23:04 The head of the Arab Tawhid Party and former minister Wiam Wahhab said the Jordanian move confirms that Syria has become a 'hotbed of terrorism', called on Amman to take the 'appropriate stance', and said Sweida 'will be Jordan's safe and stable support'.
26 Oct 2026, 23:40 The Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that communication with Jordan is continuing to determine the reasons behind the strikes.
26 Oct 2026, 23:42 The Syrian government denied any prior coordination with Jordan over the strike, said it resulted in deaths including civilians and children, and opened an investigation into the incident, while the Jordanian authorities had announced the arrest of three of the perpetrators of the Karak attack.
27 Oct 2026, 10:34 Reuters quoted a Jordanian minister as saying that the strikes on ISIS killed more than 20 of its members.
27 Oct 2026, 10:41 Jordan's communications minister said the attacks in southern Syria targeted ISIS and announced that his country will form a joint committee with Syria following the strikes, without details on the nature of the committee or when it will be formed.
27 Oct 2026, 11:50 The Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed its strongest rejection of the Jordanian shelling that hit sites in Daraa province, and Damascus described the strikes as an 'unacceptable violation'.
27 Oct 2026, 11:55 The Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that work is currently under way, in coordination with Jordan, to form a security committee aimed at ending the violations and preventing their recurrence, and said it is following with concern the recent security developments on the Syrian-Jordanian border.
27 Oct 2026, 12:22 Lebanon ON published a photo report showing images of those it described as the dead of the Jordanian strikes on the Daraa countryside in southern Syria, without details on their number or the timing or circumstances of the strikes.
27 Oct 2026, 15:59 Al Arabiya quoted an informed Jordanian source as saying that the civilians killed in a strike on Daraa were from the family of one of the terrorists, without further details on the identity of the victims.

Timeline written by AI from the sources below; updated as new reports arrive.

⚠️ Sources disagree

Day of the Karak church attack

'the attack that targeted the Hamoud church in Karak last Friday' according to Lebanon Debate
'in response to the attack on a church in Karak last Saturday' according to المترجم احمد المقادمة

Coordination with the Syrian government

'the air operation ... was carried out in coordination with the Syrian government' according to lebanon debate
'the Syrian government denied any prior coordination' according to المترجم احمد المقادمة

Figures as each outlet reported them at the time. We do not judge which is correct; numbers often change as events develop.

How the sources covered it

Some coverage focused on official Jordanian military statements (the operation's name, retaliation for the Karak attack, coordination with Damascus), while others focused on the Syrian response, the Syrian government's denial of prior coordination, and civilian casualties; a third group limited itself to brief official statements or photo material without figures.

Jordan launches 'Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud' operation in southern Syria in retaliation for Karak church attack

⏱️ Timeline

⚠️ Sources disagree

How the sources covered it

📰 All coverage