Israeli forces raid rural Quneitra, search passersby

Fresh incursion

Israeli forces carried out a new incursion into rural Quneitra in southern Syria on Tuesday, establishing a military checkpoint at the entrance to Jabata al-Khashab and searching passersby, according to Syrian state media.

Syria's Alikhbariah TV reported that troops set up the checkpoint at the town's entrance and conducted searches on people passing through. The broadcast did not specify whether any detentions occurred or how long the checkpoint remained in place.

Pattern of violations

The raid came one day after Israeli forces advanced into central rural Quneitra on Monday and established a checkpoint on the Rasem al-Halabi junction road, where soldiers searched passersby. On Saturday, Israeli troops had also set up a checkpoint at the Al-Kassarat junction in the same town.

On Monday, Israeli forces opened fire toward several journalists documenting Israeli violations in rural Quneitra, though no injuries were reported. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) condemned the shooting — which targeted one of its correspondents — as a "flagrant violation of press freedom," stating that such actions represent a direct threat to media workers operating in the region.

Diplomatic context

Damascus considers the repeated Israeli incursions into southern Syria a violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and has demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory. The agreement, brokered following the October War, established a buffer zone and limited military presence in the Quneitra Governorate.