On October 26, the Royal Jordanian Air Force launched a series of airstrikes across southern Syria targeting groups linked to an attack on St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, located in Jordan's Karak Governorate. The church shooting occurred on October 23 during a woman's funeral, leaving nine people dead and 34 others wounded when three armed men opened fire on mourners. Named "Jordanian Deterrence-Hamoud," the military operation targeted sites in southern Syria, with Jordanian Government Communications Minister Mohammad al Momani stating that preliminary assessments indicated more than 20 Islamic State operatives had been killed and a major weapons depot destroyed. Hours prior to the airstrikes, Jordanian authorities wounded and arrested three suspects from the Thenibat tribe—identified as Hazzah Zaidan Mohammad Thenibat, Mishal Zedian Mohammad Thenibat, and Ahmad Sami Hussein Thenibat—following an armed confrontation at an abandoned house in Al Judayda.
The airstrikes triggered diplomatic friction between Jordan and Syria regarding authorization and casualties. While Jordanian officials claimed the strikes were coordinated with Syrian authorities, Damascus denied any prior coordination and condemned the operation as a violation of its sovereignty. Syria's Health Ministry reported that the strikes killed seven civilians—three children, one woman, and three men—in the southern governorate of Daraa. Minister Momani expressed Jordan's regret over the civilian deaths while maintaining that forces avoided locations with a known civilian presence. In response, Syrian authorities temporarily shut down the Nasib border crossing, the primary commercial transit point between the two nations, which resumed operations the following day after demonstrations and threats against Jordanian vehicles.
The strikes underscored persistent security challenges in southern Syria following the 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Extremist groups like the Islamic State have maintained an underground footprint across Daraa and Suwayda, with a United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team report revealing an Islamic State plot in 2025 to assassinate Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The UN team also reported that militants had infiltrated tribal structures, participated in armed clashes, and compromised the middle ranks of Syria's security apparatus. For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. administration requested $130 million for the Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund to assist vetted Syrian forces, including former members of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Free Army who have been integrated into Damascus's security institutions.