The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday said it had deployed troops in southern Syria — a move strongly condemned by the United Nations.

In a statement on social media platform X, the IDF said it was "prepared to prevent hostile forces from entering the region and Druze villages."

The military said it evacuated five Syrian-Druze citizens for medical treatment in Israeli territory.

It did not give further detail as to the number of forces involved or if it was a new deployment.

Israel has ramped up military operations in Syria since rebels toppled Bashar Assad in December, with airstrikes on military targets across the country and ground forces entering its southwest.

UN envoy 'strongly condemns' Israeli airstrikes

The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has meanwhile slammed Israel for launching airstrikes, calling for an immediate end to hostilities.

"I strongly condemn Israel's continued and escalating violations of Syria's sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities," Pedersen said in a post on X.

Pedersen added: "I call for these attacks to cease at once and for Israel to stop endangering Syrian civilians and to respect international law and Syria's sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence."

On Friday, Israel launched airstrikes on targets near Syria's presidential palace in Damascus after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel would intervene if Syrian authorities failed to protect the Druze minority.

Druze fighters, Syrian forces clash

The airstrikes come after days of sectarian clashes involving Sunni gunmen and members of the Druze community in violence triggered by an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing the Prophet Muhammad.

The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric and sparked anger among Sunni Muslims.

The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.

The Druze killings come after a wave of massacres in March in which over 1,700 civilians, many from Syria's Alawite community, are reported to have been killed.

Edited by: Rana Taha and Zac Crellin