Israeli troops raided a village in southern Syria and detained several Hamas operatives in an overnight operation, the military said Thursday.

The alleged Hamas operatives were nabbed from the village of Beit Jinn, some 6 kilometers (4 miles) from Israel’s frontier with Syria, outside of an Israeli-held buffer zone.

The operation was carried out by reservists from the Alexandroni Brigade, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“Following intelligence collected in recent weeks, IDF troops carried out a pinpoint nighttime operation in Syria and arrested several terrorists from the Hamas terror organization, who tried to advance many terror attacks against Israeli citizens and IDF troops in Syria,” the military said.

According to a military source, the troops reached several homes in the village and nabbed the suspects within 45 minutes, then headed back to Israel.

The IDF said the operatives were brought to Israel to be interrogated by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504.

Several weapons were captured during the raid, the army added.

A spokesperson for Syria’s interior ministry told Reuters seven people were arrested in the Beit Jinn raid, but denied they were from Hamas, saying they were civilians from the area. The spokesperson said one person was killed by Israeli fire.

Asked whether anyone was killed in its raid, the Israeli military said in response to a query that when one of the suspected members attempted to flee, shots were fired and “a hit was identified.”

The IDF added that the incident was under further investigation.

The raid came days after the IDF said it targeted a member of Hamas in the same town.

Sources told Reuters last month that Syria was holding direct talks with Israel aimed at calming tensions and securing the region.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

Hamas had a significant foothold in Syria until civil war broke out in the country in 2011, but has since reduced its presence. Its status in the country has become uncertain following the fall of Assad, as the regime of Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, seeks to consolidate power, take arms out of the hands of non-governmental groups, and avoid confrontation with Israel.

Last month, Sharaa confirmed the existence of indirect talks with Israel that he said were aimed at calming tensions.

The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been in conflict in the Middle East for decades, as the US encourages the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to establish relations with Israel.

Israel has cautioned against swift recognition of the new government in Syria, expressing deep skepticism about Sharaa, a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US.

But Israeli airstrikes on former Assad military sites and criticism of the new regime have substantially subsided in recent weeks.

Agencies contributed to this report.