Israeli army launches new incursion into Syria’s Quneitra countryside
Raid comes despite US-backed mechanism aimed at reducing military escalation
A view of Al Qunaitra, where, over the past year since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli army has detained more than 40 people, established nine military bases in and around civilian settlements and strategic hills, and took over approximately 12,000 acres of land in the province in southern Syria on December 17, 2025.
ISTANBUL
Israeli forces carried out a fresh incursion into Syria’s southern countryside of Quneitra on Wednesday, Syrian media reported, marking the latest violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
According to the SANA news agency, an Israeli military unit comprising two vehicles entered the area through the southern town of Bir Ajam and advanced toward the village of Bariqa.
The force reportedly halted near the Bir al-Kabbas area for approximately ten minutes before withdrawing along the same route.
The latest incursion occurred despite an agreement reached earlier this month between Syria and Israel to establish a US-supervised communication mechanism aimed at reducing military escalation and facilitating coordination, according to a trilateral statement issued following talks in Paris.
Israeli forces have been carrying out near-daily incursions into Syrian territory, particularly in Quneitra’s countryside, detaining civilians, setting up checkpoints, questioning passersby and destroying farmland.
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.
