Israeli occupation forces have escalated their ground operations in southern Syria, pushing deeper into villages across the western Daraa countryside and the Quneitra province, while warplanes roar overhead and military checkpoints spring up in civilian areas, according to Syrian state media and local sources.
On Wednesday, an Israeli enemy army patrol advanced into the village of Maariya in the western countryside of Daraa, raiding several residential homes in the village’s western neighborhood, local sources reported. The patrol opened fire during the incursion, though no casualties or injuries have been confirmed so far. The searches appeared to target specific homes, but the purpose of the operation remains unclear.
The move comes a day after Israeli forces raided the town of Kudna in the southern Quneitra countryside, where they established a military checkpoint inside the town, Syrian state television reported on Tuesday. The checkpoint is the latest in a series of escalating violations of Syria’s sovereignty, as Israeli ground forces continue to expand their operational footprint along the border.
Intensive Aerial Activity
Local sources in southern Syria have also reported heavy Israeli warplane activity over the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra in recent days, suggesting that the ground incursions are being supported by an intensified aerial surveillance and intimidation campaign.
Alarming Incursion Numbers
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, documented 28 Israeli incursions and military movements in Daraa and Quneitra during the first ten days of August alone—a stark indicator of the accelerating ground escalation. According to the Observatory, these operations have included systematic home searches, the brief detention of several young men (later released), the bulldozing of agricultural and forested land, and the construction of new roads in border areas, all of which point to a deliberate military engineering effort.
Incursion Near UNDOF Position
In a particularly sensitive development, Israeli occupation forces invaded the al-Mantara Dam area in the northwestern countryside of Quneitra on August 8, penetrating close to the village of Western Samadaniyah. Notably, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) troops were deployed just meters from the Israeli position at the time of the incursion. According to circulated information, the Israeli force entered the area around the dam without any reported clashes or security incidents. Later, UNDOF personnel inspected damage caused by the incursion in Western Samadaniyah.
Roads Blocked, Movement Disrupted
Separately, Israeli forces blocked the road linking Eastern Samadaniyah with Khan Arnabeh by erecting a temporary earthen barrier. A bulldozer, a tank, and more than fifty personnel were deployed along the road, effectively disrupting civilian movement and further entrenching the military presence in the area.
As Israeli violations of Syria’s sovereignty continue to mount with little international pushback, the ground incursions now documented at a rate of nearly three per day signal a sustained and deepening military campaign that threatens to further destabilize an already fractured border region.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)