New Israeli incursion in southwest Syria's Quneitra province

Israeli forces entered a village in the southern Syrian province of Quneitra on Friday, in the latest incursion in the area near the occupied Golan Hieghts.

Six Israeli military vehicles entered the village of Saida al-Hanout, according to Syria’s state-run news agency SANA.

An Israeli patrol had reached the entrance of the village of Al-Samdaniyeh a day earlier, while another patrol was seen along the Al-Mantara dam road.

The Israeli army also reportedly shelled the village of Tal Ahmar in the southern Quneitra countryside.

Last week, an Israeli attack on the town of Beit Jinn in the western Damascus countryside left 13 people killed. It was the deadliest escalation since Israel seized territory in southwest Syria right after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

In December 2024, Israel claimed that a disengagement agreement reached with Syria in 1974 was no longer valid, and its troops crossed into a demilitarised buffer zone that separated the occupied Golan Heights from Syria-proper.

It has since captured parts of Quneitra province and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, while carrying out repeated airstrikes on Syria as well as cross-border raids and ground incursions.

Direct talks between Israeli and Syrian officials to reach a security deal have failed to yield results, as Tel Aviv insists on a demilitarised southern Syria.

The new authorities in Damascus have accused Israel of exploiting the transitional period and the weakened condition of state institutions to expand its operations deeper into Syrian territory.

Tel Aviv has made unverified claims that several Islamist groups, including some close to Iran, are still active in southern Syria and pose a threat to Israel’s security.