ISTANBUL

Israeli army forces arrested six Syrian youths on Sunday in the southern countryside of Quneitra, in a new violation of the country’s sovereignty, official media reported.

The state-run Alikhbariyah TV said Israeli forces detained five people, hailing from Daraa, while they were in the village of Kudna in southern Quneitra to search for wild mushrooms on agricultural land.

In a separate incident, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said an Israeli force made up of four military vehicles advanced from Abu Ghitar hill toward the village of Sayda al-Hanout in the southern Quneitra countryside, where they arrested a young man while he was herding sheep in the area.

Israeli forces have carried out near-daily incursions in southern Syria in recent weeks, particularly in Quneitra province, conducting arrests, setting up checkpoints, and destroying forested areas, actions that have fueled growing local anger toward Israel.

Israeli forces have repeatedly entered Syrian territory and launched airstrikes, killing civilians and destroying Syrian military sites, vehicles, weapons, and ammunition.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated a 1974 agreement with Syria.