Israeli Forces Conduct New Incursions and Target Vital Facilities in Southern Syria

In the village of Taranja, Quneitra countryside, Israeli forces entered the area early Monday and launched searches of residents’ homes, resulting in the detention of a young man from the village, according to local reports.

Israeli forces also reopened the road leading to Al-Arda village in western Daraa countryside after residents had blocked it with stones to prevent military patrols from passing through.

The latest developments come amid rising tensions in southern Syria that began on Sunday, when Israeli drone aircraft targeted with bombs a road blocked by residents between the villages of Maariya and Abdeen in western Daraa to prevent military incursions.

Later, an Israeli force entered the area, removed the stones, and reopened the road between the two villages. The forces also fired at an electricity transformer in Maariya, causing it to stop functioning and cutting power to the western neighborhood of the village, according to a local resident.

During the incursion, Israeli forces issued warnings to residents of Maariya through written leaflets, urging them not to continue blocking roads used by military patrols.

On Sunday, Israeli forces stationed at the Al-Jazira military post near Maariya opened fire toward agricultural areas in Wadi Al-Raqqad.

In Quneitra, central parts of the countryside witnessed an Israeli incursion on Sunday, accompanied by artillery shelling and the detention of a young man during raids in the village of Al-Samdaniyah Al-Gharbiyah. He was later released by Israeli forces.

UN Report Expected

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable, stressing that Israel must comply with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

Guterres announced at a press conference on Sunday that he would submit a detailed report to the UN Security Council at the end of the month regarding Israeli violations in Syria.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Syria is working "to reach a security agreement with Israel with the participation of several countries." He added that Syria is avoiding confrontation with Israel because it is not in its interest, noting that the future of relations depends on the implementation of each stage.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Israel considered the 1974 Disengagement Agreement no longer valid and moved forces into the buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which has been under Israeli control since 1967.