Israel conducts fresh incursions in southern Syria, prompting Syrian condemnation

Israel’s armed forces carried out a series of raids and artillery attacks in the southern Syrian provinces of Daraa and Quneitra. Soldiers entered the villages of Ain al‑Eid, Ain al‑Ziwan and Abdin, set up checkpoints, searched homes and arrested residents. The Israeli army said it killed two “armed terrorists” and later reported a “rare” incident in which reservists killed two attackers in the UN‑monitored buffer zone.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the operations as a “flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” urging the United Nations and the broader international community to intervene. Syrian officials reported shelling that forced families to flee their homes, with some residents inspecting unexploded artillery shells after the fighting. The Arab Parliament in Cairo backed Syria’s call for respect of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, while Turkey’s foreign ministry also denounced the attacks.

Since the overthrow of Bashar al‑Assad’s regime in late 2024, Israel has expanded its presence in the Golan Heights security zone, declared the 1974 agreement void and increased incursions deep into Syrian territory, citing the need to neutralise threats and protect the Druze minority allied with Israel.