Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria multiple times over the past year, targeting members of Lebanon's Hezbollah and officials from Iran, the close ally of both Hezbollah and Syria. But it has not previously made public any ground forays into Syria.

Israel announced Sunday that it carried out a special ground operation in Syria "in recent months," according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli military said Sunday that it has carried out a ground raid into Syria, seizing a Syrian citizen involved in Iranian networks. It was the first time in the current war that Israel announced its troops operated in Syrian territory.