Israeli Forces Deploy Tanks and Arrest Civilians in Quneitra
Israeli military forces conducted incursions into Syria's Quneitra province, deploying tanks and arresting civilians in violation of Syrian sovereignty.
The Israeli military advanced into the northern countryside of Quneitra province in southern Syria on Tuesday, deploying two tanks and seven military vehicles near the former governorate headquarters. During the operation, forces established a temporary checkpoint and arrested a civilian. This followed a similar sweep in the village of Al-Hurriya, where two additional individuals were detained.
These maneuvers are part of a broader pattern of escalating incursions into Quneitra and Daraa province, including increased reconnaissance and warplane activity. Since December 2024, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israel has declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void and seized the Syrian buffer zone, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. The military continues to conduct periodic raids to seize weapons and arrest individuals linked to Hamas.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria condemned the operations as a "flagrant violation" of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, asserting that the incursions threaten regional stability and obstruct reconstruction efforts. While Damascus views these actions as breaches of the 1974 agreement, Israel treats the accord as no longer binding, citing the need to prevent cross-border attacks and establish new security facts on the ground for future negotiations.
