ISTANBUL

The Israeli army launched a military incursion on Sunday in Syria’s southern village of Saida in the Quneitra countryside, Syrian media reported.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), 16 Israeli armored vehicles advanced from Tel Abu Ghithar toward Saida, and conducted raids and searches of civilian homes before withdrawing shortly afterwards.

The state-run Alikhbaria channel said Israeli forces searched homes and attempted to force residents to answer surveys in several neighborhoods for allegedly distributing aid before withdrawing from the area.

The outlet said residents refused to answer the surveys and rejected the Israeli military presence in their village.

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

In recent months, the Israeli army has staged several cross-border raids into Syria’s southern provinces, including Quneitra, despite international calls for halting violations of Syria’s sovereignty.

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.