An Israeli occupation patrol, made up of six military vehicles, raided the village of al-Ashah in Syria's Quneitra countryside on Friday, according to local reports. The force entered from the village of al-Asbah, using a route connected to the western Tel Ahmar military base.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, members of the Israeli patrol attempted to approach residents by distributing food baskets, diesel fuel, and other heating materials. However, the residents refused to accept any of the items offered. The patrol withdrew toward the occupied territories without any direct contact or engagement with the local population.

The incursion occurred just hours after armed confrontations erupted in Beit Jinn, located in the western Damascus countryside, on Friday. A group of young men reportedly confronted Israeli forces at close range, resulting in the deaths of 20 Syrian civilians and injuries to at least 13 Israeli soldiers.

Elite Israeli troops from the 55th Paratroopers Brigade of the 98th Elite Division raided the town of Beit Jinn, which is located just a few hundred meters from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) Zone. During the IOF's attempt to detain some of the individuals, gunfire broke out from locals, forcing a withdrawal. 

It is also worth mentioning that around eight Israeli settlers reportedly crossed into Syrian territory from the border fence at two separate points on Thursday. In the occupied Syrian Golan, the intruders reportedly breached the border using a disc saw and reached Bir al-Ajam, opposite the settlement of Aloni Habashan, before being returned by the Israeli army. At another point, settlers raided Syrian lands in the Mount Hermon area.

Katz says 'Israel' withdraw from Syria

Roughly two weeks before the incident, Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz stated that "Israel" has no intention of withdrawing from the areas it occupies in Syria, reaffirming the occupation's policy of maintaining its military foothold in the region, despite growing tensions.

He declared on November 16 that “Israel’s policy is clear: There will be no Palestinian state,” reiterating his government’s categorical rejection of Palestinian statehood and support for permanent Israeli occupation of key positions in Syria.

Katz affirmed that Israeli occupation forces will maintain their hold over the summit of Jabal al-Sheikh, Syria, and remain deployed inside the Syrian-controlled side of the demilitarized zone in southern Syria. He insisted that this continued presence is "vital" for safeguarding Israeli interests in the occupied Golan and al-Jalil and will not be relinquished under any prospective arrangement with Damascus.

The insistence on retaining positions on Jabal al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon) complicates intermittent Israeli-Syrian security talks and any diplomatic pathway that contemplates phased Israeli pullbacks in exchange for formal understandings. However, occupying these areas also grants Israeli forces a commanding field of vision over southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and central Syria, which is a strategic advantage that reinforces the occupation’s surveillance and military position across multiple fronts.