Israeli ground raids and drone interceptions intensify in southern Syria

Israeli military activity in southern Syria escalated on Friday, with a series of ground incursions reported in the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra, alongside a wave of interceptions of Iranian drones carried out by Israeli air defences.

The surge in operations coincides with sustained cross-border exchanges between Israel and Iranian-linked forces.

Youssef Al-Musleh, editorial director of the Free People of Houran Gathering media activist group told The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Israeli forces "carried out ground incursions in the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa, during which they conducted search operations and imposed temporary security measures," noting that Israeli drone shootdowns are continuing across the area.

Al-Musleh said that "Israeli military forces coming from the Al-Jazirah barracks advanced to the outskirts of the village of Abidin in the Yarmouk Basin area of western Daraa countryside, southern Syria, and set up a temporary checkpoint at the village’s edge before withdrawing an hour later."

"Also in the Quneitra countryside, a military force consisting of three tanks and six military vehicles advanced into the village of Al-Hurriya in the northern countryside and closed several roads for a period of time. Two tanks and four vehicles also entered the town of Eastern Al-Samadaniyah and conducted searches of several homes there," he added. 

The incursions, according to Al-Musleh, are intensifying in parallel with Israeli-Iranian crossfire.

"The region is witnessing an increase in the frequency of Israeli incursions in tandem with the mutual shelling between Israel and Iran," he said. "According to locals, the searches are being conducted under the pretext of looking for weapons in the area."

"As far as I can see," he continued, "the Israeli forces want to completely secure the area from any potential threat [to them] and eliminate personal weapons from it."

In the air, Israeli defences have intercepted several drones over the past 48 hours.

"An Israeli air defence system shot down a drone over the city of Nawa in western Daraa countryside," said Al-Musleh. "Another drone was intercepted on Friday morning south of the city of Tafas, one more near the town of Nasib, and another between the towns of Kahil and Al-Taybeh in eastern Daraa — the latter incident resulting in a woman being injured and transported to hospital."

In recent days, the Israeli Air Force has also shot down multiple Iranian drones over Daraa, Quneitra, and Suweida. Several missiles were intercepted, though some reportedly fell on civilian homes, causing destruction to residential property.