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Incursions in Daraa, Quneitra
Israeli forces stepped up field operations in southern Syria with new incursions and searches in the countryside of Daraa and Quneitra, including an Israeli army patrol storming the area between the towns of Abdeen and Ma'ariya in the Yarmouk Basin in western Daraa.
Field sources said the patrol began thorough searches and raids of residents' homes, while heavy gunfire aimed at intimidating the local population accompanied the moves.
In northern Quneitra countryside, sources said an Israeli force raided the village of Tarnga and arrested a young man from his home, escorting him into areas controlled by Israel.
The reporting also described a broader arrest campaign affecting dozens of Syrians since the end of last year, with estimates placing around 50 people held in Israeli prisons since December 2024.
The Israeli army had preempted the moves by dropping leaflets warning residents against attempting to close roads or obstruct military patrols, and sources confirmed Israeli forces opened roads residents had previously closed.
Leaflets, gunfire, and arrests
Al-Arabiya TV correspondent Khaled Al-Adlabi in Damascus reported that an Israeli patrol penetrated between Abdeen and Ma'riya in the Yarmouk Basin area of western Daraa countryside, where it carried out searches and raided several homes.
The correspondent said youths from the area re-closed the road between the villages with stones after a day when the Israeli army opened the road and dropped leaflets warning residents not to block it, and he noted the incursion coincided with gunfire aimed at intimidating residents.
In northern Quneitra countryside, Al-Arabiya reported that Israeli forces arrested a young man from his home in the village of Tarnajah before transporting him into territory controlled by Israel.
The reporting also cited local estimates that about 50 Syrians are in Israeli prisons after their arrest since December 2024.
Euronews added that Ahmad al-Sharaa, the interim Syrian president, said in Al Jazeera's program 'The Interview' that Syria is working to reach a security agreement with Israel with the participation of a group of countries.
Guterres visit and diplomatic stakes
The escalation was framed as coming ahead of an anticipated visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the UNDOF headquarters in the Golan area, with one report describing Israeli shelling at dawn on agricultural lands north of the village Taranja in the Quneitra countryside.
The same reporting said the official SANA agency described an Israeli force including three vehicles and a bulldozer penetrating the villages of Ma’ariyah and Al-Arda and establishing a checkpoint inside the latter while distributing warning leaflets.
In parallel, the governor of Quneitra, Ghassan Ahmed, discussed with Guterres the issue of Syrians detained by Israel and repeated violations against civilians, urging the United Nations to press for their release and restore the situation to what it was before December 8, 2024.
Euronews reported that Guterres said in a press conference on Sunday that he would present to the UN Security Council by the end of the month a detailed report on Israeli violations in Syria.
Damascus, meanwhile, continued to insist on diplomatic channels, calling for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and urging the United Nations and the international community to shoulder their responsibilities to stop the escalation and prevent further tension and instability.
