Israeli troops conduct new ground incursion in southern Syria

The Israeli military conducted a new ground incursion into southern Syria early Monday, advancing into the western countryside of Daraa province and establishing a temporary military checkpoint. According to reports from Syria's state-run SANA news agency, the operation marks the latest in a series of repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty and has heightened concerns among local residents over restricted movement and ongoing instability in the region.

Details of the Latest Ground Operation

Citing the mayor of the affected villages, SANA reported that Israeli troops moved into the area between Maariya and Abdin at dawn, setting up a checkpoint at a junction known locally as al-Maqsam. Syrian officials described this as part of a pattern of Israeli ground advances in western Daraa, which are often accompanied by temporary checkpoints aimed at disrupting daily life. This raid follows intensified activity, including three separate incursions around Quneitra province on Sunday, bringing the total number of documented Israeli raids in Syria this month to 43, according to an Anadolu Agency tally.

A Broader Pattern of Escalation and Occupation

The ground incursion occurs within a context of significantly escalated Israeli military actions in Syria. Since December 2024, Syrian government data indicates Israel has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and more than 400 cross-border ground raids into southern provinces. Israeli officials typically justify these operations as necessary to counter Iranian entrenchment and weapons transfers to groups like Hezbollah. Furthermore, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its control in the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone established by a 1974 agreement.

Regional Tensions and Sovereignty Violations

The repeated incursions and airstrikes continue to fuel regional tensions. Syria maintains that its government poses no threat to Israel and condemns the operations as unlawful violations of its territorial integrity. The establishment of checkpoints on Syrian soil is viewed as a particularly brazen form of occupation and control. These actions complicate an already volatile security landscape in southern Syria and present a ongoing challenge to any future political stabilization or normalization efforts in the region.