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Abdin firefight and flight
Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, where residents said Israeli troops fired warnings shots at walls and between angry protesters before firing artillery rounds at the village.
“Trump presses Syria to take on Hezbollah, raising alarm in Lebanon and Israel The White House has soured on Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon BEIRUT -- As the White House has soured on Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, U”
The Washington Post reported that no one was harmed in the exchange, but most residents fled and were still too afraid to return on Monday.
In Abdin, residents described a pattern of incursions, with Mohammad al-Hassan saying, “They come into the village regularly, every few days,” and describing armored 4x4 vehicles that roam and search houses.
The Washington Post also said Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, called on Israel to withdraw from the area that the U.N. says is 235 square kilometers (91 square miles), and that the Syrian government condemned the Israeli incursion and shelling in Abdin.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military announced it had killed armed men in southern Syria, and an Israeli military official said Monday that Israeli soldiers had killed two militants who were planning on attacking Israeli troops.
Condemnations and competing frames
Türkiye condemned Israel’s strikes in southern Syria, with its Foreign Ministry denouncing attacks on the Syrian provinces of Quneitra and Daraa as a clear violation of Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as international law and the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
In a statement carried by Türkiye Today, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said, “These attacks, which disregard the safety of life and property of the Syrian people,” and added that the strikes “constitute a clear violation of international law and the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement of Forces.”
Syria also condemned Israeli attacks in the south, with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates saying the attacks “terrorized civilians” and constituted a breach of international law, the U.N. Charter and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
On the Israeli side, The Times of Israel said Israeli troops stationed in southern Syria came under fire late Sunday night and that “troops returned fire and launched mortars in the area,” with a helicopter strike in an open area.
The Times of Israel further described a prior day incident in which the IDF said it killed two gunmen inside the Israeli-held buffer zone, and it quoted a Syrian foreign ministry statement published by SANA warning that Israel’s “aggressive practices” were undermining Syria’s progress in “consolidating security and stability.”
Detentions, buffer zones, and escalation
France 24 reported that since late 2024, the Israeli army has detained at least 197 men in southern Syria, and that a lawyer said 43 of them remain in detention described as arbitrary inside Israeli prisons.
“Türkiye condemns the Israeli attack in southern Syria as a 'dangerous escalation'”
France 24 said the Israeli army stated it was targeting “suspected terrorists,” while the assault on Beit Jen on the evening of November 28, 2025 left 13 dead and 25 wounded, according to local medical sources.
In the same report, a family member described a raid in which soldiers arrested Nidal Akasha Akasha and Muhammad Akasha Akasha, and the article quoted the daughter of one detainee saying, “They disappeared after the raid.”
Meanwhile, The Washington Post described Israel’s military presence in southern Syria as part of a shift to a more aggressive strategy, saying Israel calls the areas “buffer zones” and says they are needed to prevent future attacks by militant groups.
Al Jazeera reported that the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned overnight Israeli attacks in southern Syria and said the attacks were “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” as residents near the occupied Golan Heights were forced to flee their homes during the night in Abdin.
