'Beware': Syrians clap back against Israeli leaflets with a message of their own

Residents of several south Syrian villages under threat from Israel have offered a cheeky retort to the threatening Israeli leaflets dropped on the area over the weekend.

Photos shared by local media group Houran Free Gathering on Sunday showed a hand-written sign warning the invading troops against entering their land.

"For your safety, entry into Syrian territory is strictly prohibited," the sign read, mimicking the language used by the Israeli military.

"Landowners will defend their land against anyone who enters. You have been warned," it continued. "Beware."

The group said the sign was placed beside a road near the villages of Abdin, Ma'ariya and Al-Aarda in Daraa province, which have been subjected to repeated Israeli raids.

Israel has occupied parts of Quneitra and Daraa provinces since December 2024 when it invaded the country following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. It also seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, which overlooks the capital Damascus.

Since then, its forces have launched frequent incursions into local villages, arresting residents, raiding civilian homes, setting up checkpoints and destroying infrastructure.

The towns have also been targeted by airstrikes and artillery fire. Hundreds of residents in Abdin were forced to flee last month after Israeli forces fired shells close to civilian homes. Last week, two children were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the nearby village of Jamla.

Locals in recent weeks have tried to put an end to the raids by blocking the roads. Israel responded by airdropping leaflets on the area warning them it would "act with all available means" if they continued to obstruct its vehicles.

Syrian state media reported Israeli forces carried out new raids in Daraa and Quneitra on Monday, storming civilian homes and abducting one resident of the village of Taranja.

This came a day after Israeli soldiers entered Ma'ariya and Al-Aarda where they searched homes and set up checkpoints. Most of Ma'ariya was left without power after the soldiers destroyed an electrical transformer in the centre of the village, state news agency SANA said.

The latest incursions come in the wake of UN chief Antonio Guterres's first visit to Syria, where he called for an end to Israel's aggression.

"Violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must cease," he said in Damascus on Saturday.

"What is happening in the region around the Golan Heights is totally unacceptable."

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Sunday that he is continuing to seek a security deal with Israel.

He said an agreement could lead to a comprehensive peace between the two countries without compromising Syria's right to the Golan Heights, which Israel has illegal occupied since 1967.