LONDON: Israeli troops shot and killed a man they said was attempting to infiltrate a military position in southern Syria overnight, the Israeli military said Monday. The incident occurred near the Syrian village of Al-Hamidiyah in an Israeli-controlled security zone close to the Israeli border. Troops from the Carmeli Brigade spotted the man climbing an embankment outside a military position, Israeli media reported, citing the military. Soldiers ordered him to stop, but he continued moving toward the post, according to the military. Troops then opened fire, killing him outside the position. The military said the man appeared to be holding an object, though it was still investigating whether he was armed. It said forces were searching the surrounding area to determine whether other suspects were present. The military said it would continue operating in the “security zone” in southern Syria to remove “any threat to Israeli civilians and (Israeli) soldiers.” The shooting follows what an Israeli reserve officer described as an increase in people approaching Israeli positions in the buffer area. The officer, speaking to the Israeli news website Ynet, said the incidents could be intended to test troop deployments and response times. The officer compared the activity to incidents before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Several weeks ago, Israeli troops detained another Syrian man who had approached an army post in the area. The military later said he had “mental illness.” The latest shooting comes amid increased Israeli military operations in southern Syria, including artillery fire, ground incursions, raids, detentions and a continuing troop presence in and around the UN-monitored separation area near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel says the operations are necessary to keep hostile forces and weapons away from its border. Syria and rights groups, however, say Israeli military activities are violations of Syrian sovereignty and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Israeli forces also have been building the “Suda 53 Line,” a fortified military route and network of observation posts along the separation line. The route is expected to extend toward Hader and the slopes of Mount Hermon. Damascus says Israel’s deployment beyond its positions before December 2024 amounts to an incursion into sovereign Syrian territory and violates the disengagement agreement. Syrian officials have cited large cumulative numbers of Israeli air and artillery strikes, ground incursions and detentions since the fall of longtime President Bashar Assad. A UN independent commission said in September that Israeli military operations in southern Syria had become more sustained and entrenched. It cited recurring patrols, incursions, raids, searches, checkpoints and permanent infrastructure affecting civilians in the Quneitra and Daraa provinces. The commission said the conduct raised concerns under international humanitarian law and standards governing war crimes.