LONDON: Israeli troops advanced into the Daraa countryside of the Syrian Arab Republic on Tuesday, moving from the Tal Abu Al-Ghaithar area into the outskirts of Wadi Al-Raqad.
Two Israeli tanks and a military vehicle entered the area and opened fire, but no casualties or damage were reported, according to the Syrian state-run agency SANA.
The incursion is the latest in a series of Israeli operations that Syria says violate the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
On Sunday, Israeli forces raided the countryside of Quneitra province, detaining a civilian from his home before advancing into neighboring Daraa, SANA reported.
In Quneitra, several Israeli military vehicles entered the village of western Samdaniyah, raided a home and detained a civilian before withdrawing, the agency said.
In Daraa, Israeli forces advanced toward the villages of Maariyah and Al-Ardah in the Yarmouk Basin, according to the state-run Alikhbariah TV. Israeli soldiers also set up a checkpoint at Al-Ardah, and shelling was reportedly heard nearby.
Leaflets were dropped warning residents not to try to block the movement of Israeli vehicles.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported incursions or detention.
The activity coincided with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Syria. In Damascus, Guterres said on July 25 that violations of Syrian territorial integrity must end.
“We consider that the present situation is intolerable and that that situation needs to stop,” he said in a press conference, adding that “what is Syrian is Syrian and cannot be taken away.”
On X the following day, he wrote that “Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity must be fully respected.
“Violations by Israel of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement are unacceptable and must stop,” the UN chief added.
Israel has expanded its military presence in southern Syria since Dec. 8, 2024, after the fall of longtime President Bashar Assad, seizing territory in the buffer zone and carrying out repeated incursions and strikes in parts of Quneitra and Daraa.
