Israeli forces raid southern Syria village, search civilians: Report

Village raids in Quneitra

Israeli forces entered the village of Ain al-Eid in Syria's southern Quneitra countryside on Saturday, establishing a military checkpoint and searching civilians before raiding a residential home, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The agency reported that troops searched passersby at the impromptu checkpoint and conducted a thorough search of one local residence during the operation.

A separate Israeli force consisting of four military vehicles entered the nearby village of Ain al-Ziwan on Friday, raiding the home of a local resident and detaining him before withdrawing from the area, the agency added. These back-to-back operations mark the latest in a series of ground incursions that have targeted residential areas in the volatile border region.

Operations since Assad fall

These incursions come amid a pattern of near-daily Israeli military operations in southern Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Dec. 8, 2024, when Israel declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void and moved into the UN-monitored buffer zone. Syria's new administration has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the 1974 accord, though Israeli troops have maintained their presence in the demilitarized area.

Despite the absence of direct threats from Damascus's current leadership, Israel has continued airstrikes and ground operations inside Syria, causing civilian casualties and damage to military infrastructure, according to Syrian media. Israeli forces have carried out repeated raids, checkpoints, house searches and detentions throughout southern Syria since the transition of power in Damascus.