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Israeli Army Escalation in Southern Syria: Incursions, Arrests, and Repeated Attacks
The southern regions of Syria, particularly in Daraa and Quneitra provinces, have witnessed a significant escalation in the activities of the Israeli military. Its forces have infiltrated several villages and outskirts of the area, conducting arrests and searches, while reconnaissance aircraft have flown intensively in the skies, amid a state of tension and instability.
According to local sources, the army patrol, consisting of eight military vehicles, advanced into the village of Abidin in the Yarmouk Basin area west of Daraa, where it carried out arrests targeting three young men from the village of Aadin, before releasing them in the evening. A journalist activist from Quneitra also indicated that forces entered various areas of the villages of Bureika, Al-Abash, Al-Asha, and Al-Ajraf, setting up security checkpoints and searching residents’ homes, without any arrests occurring there.
Earlier, during these incursions, a patrol from Tel Ahar Military Base in Quneitra moved toward the towns of Al-Abash and Al-Asha, setting up temporary checkpoints between Al-Rifayyed and Al-Asha near Mount Mheir, marking a clear escalation in military operations close to the border strip.
Reports of violence and violations have also emerged. On August 20, Israeli forces carried out a land-clearing operation in agricultural areas and confiscated a herd of about 200 sheep. The forces left the area afterward. Additionally, areas near the towns of Bureika and Bair Al-Ajam were also bulldozed, with no known reasons provided for these land demolitions.
These attacks are part of a recurring series of violations along the border with the occupied Golan Heights, where occupation forces rely on aerial reconnaissance via drones and ground infiltrations, in addition to arrests targeting civilians engaged in agriculture and livestock grazing near the demarcation lines.
These violations are intensifying, especially after the fall of Assad’s regime, as Israeli forces have increased their attacks, including hundreds of airstrikes targeting military sites to prevent infrastructure rehabilitation, alongside infiltrations and deployments in the areas of Rif Damascus, Quneitra, and Daraa. This reflects a notable escalation in their policies toward the region.
