ISTANBUL

Israeli military units on Saturday stormed Syria's southern Quneitra countryside with tanks and armored vehicles, in violation of the country’s sovereignty, according to Syrian media.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported that Israeli forces moved eastward toward Tal al-Ahmar from the western side with two tanks and two military vehicles, hoisting the Israeli flag at the site before later pulling back.

The broadcaster said that a six-vehicle Israeli patrol also entered the villages of Bir Ajam, Bariqa, and both the eastern and western sides of Zubeida. Another group, using three military vehicles, raided the villages of Ein Zivan and Abu Qubays.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army or the Syrian authorities on the report.

Israeli incursions in Quneitra have recently intensified, with locals complaining of advances into their farmland, as well as the destruction of hundreds of acres of forests, arrests of residents, and the establishment of military checkpoints.

The Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes on Syria and more than 400 cross-border raids into the southern provinces since December 2024, according to government data.

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 the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.