Israeli forces raid Syria's Quneitra as UN fact-finding team arrives to document violations

Israeli forces carried out more incursions into Syria's Quneitra governorate on Saturday, amid rising local anger at the Israeli aggression.

Local sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that an Israeli force consisting of six military vehicles entered the village of Saida Al-Hanout on Saturday morning, where they searched four homes. At the same time, the army set up checkpoints at the village's entrances, causing hours-long delays for residents.

No new arrests were reported.

Elsewhere, the Israeli army released a Syrian youth after detaining him and another person on Friday at a checkpoint set up on the road connecting the villages of Al-Ajraf and um Batinah in the central countryside of Quneitra.

The other young man is still in detention, with no information on his whereabouts or the reasons for his abduction.

Israeli forces targeted Tal Ahmar al-Sharqi in the Quneitra countryside with heavy machine gun fire on Friday, in an incident that sparked fear among local residents, local sources said. No casualties were reported from the incident.

The latest Israeli attacks follow a visit by a delegation of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan (UNDOF) on Thursday. The group visited a military compound previously used by the deposed Syrian regime, and later met with locals in the town of Khan Arnabeh, where the recent violations by Israel were discussed.

On Tuesday, three civilians were injured by Israeli fire near Khan Arnabeh.

In a related development, a UN fact-finding mission arrived in Quneitra on Saturday, with activist Mohammed Abu Hashish telling Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the mission aims to document Israel's near-daily violations in the area.

Abu Hashish said the delegation will meet with residents affected by the Israeli attacks to hear their complaints and the extent of the damage inflicted on their homes, land, and other property.

Israel has carried out repeated incursions into Syrian territory since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago, as well as carrying out bombings, while demanding a demilitarised zone in the country's south.