'Israel' advances in Quneitra as cross-border raids intensify
Israeli forces have escalated cross-border operations in Quneitra and Daraa, carrying out incursions, raids, and shelling while expanding their military presence and abuses in Syrian territory.
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Israeli occupation forces humvees move in the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights on December 21, 2024 (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Israeli forces increased their operations along the Syrian border on Thursday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reporting yet another incursion into central Quneitra countryside. Early in the morning, an Israeli patrol entered the outskirts of a village in the area, part of a pattern of expanding ground movements by Israeli units inside Syrian territory.
Since the collapse of the Assad government in December 2024, "Israel" has intensified its cross-border activities, exploiting the political vacuum to push deeper into Quneitra and the demilitarized zone bordering the occupied Golan Heights.
Earlier this week, an Israeli force composed of three SUVs advanced into the villages of Saisoun and al-Masritiya in the western Daraa countryside. The troops searched agricultural lands in the area before pulling back, marking another step in Israel’s widening ground footprint inside Syria.
This development followed an earlier report by Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariyah, which confirmed that Israeli forces had pushed into the town of Kwdana in southwestern Quneitra. Residents in the province say Israeli activities have intensified in recent months, bringing land seizures, the destruction of farmland and forested areas, arrests of civilians, and the establishment of new military checkpoints.
Border Violations
According to the Observatory, the patrol remained in the area briefly before withdrawing.
After midnight, Israeli aggression escalated further when a tank positioned in the occupied Golan fired two shells toward the outskirts of Abidin and Kuwaya in the Yarmouk Basin of western Daraa countryside. No casualties or material damage were reported.
A day earlier, several artillery shells launched by Israeli forces from the occupied territories landed near the eastern al-Tal al-Ahmar hill in central Quneitra, causing panic among residents. No injuries were reported.
Three days before the latest incidents, Israeli occupation forces carried out a security raid inside Syrian territory in western Daraa countryside, according to the Observatory. An Israeli military unit also surrounded the western neighborhood of Maariya, in the Yarmouk Basin, and conducted a search operation targeting residential areas.
Human rights organizations say these incursions are part of a broader pattern of systematic abuses in areas under Israeli control or heavy Israeli military presence. Reports document forced displacement, home demolitions, denial of access to agricultural land, arbitrary detentions, and forced transfers of civilians into Israeli-held territories, actions that constitute war crimes under international law.
Expanding Aggression
According to official Syrian data, "Israel" has carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes and over 400 cross-border raids since December 2024.
Following the fall of the Assad government, "Israel" expanded its occupation of the Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, directly violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
UN peacekeeping forces operating in the area of separation have warned that Israel’s military activity inside the zone risks igniting broader escalation and undermining long-standing ceasefire arrangements. Despite repeated warnings, Israeli violations have persisted, deepening concerns over unchecked aggression and international impunity.border
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