The Syrian official news agency (SANA) reported that an Israeli patrol consisting of five vehicles carrying about thirty personnel infiltrated at 3 a.m. into the town of Jibata al-Khashab north of Quneitra, located within the separation zone in the occupied Syrian Golan. They searched several homes and arrested seven individuals before withdrawing at 5 a.m. to a military base they established near the town.

In response to an inquiry from Agence France-Presse, the Israeli army claimed that its forces “detained a number of people suspected of carrying out terrorist activities against soldiers in the Jibata area in southern Syria,” adding that the detainees were transferred inside Israeli territory for further investigation.

The recent incursions come amid ongoing Israeli escalation, as Tel Aviv intensified its air and ground attacks in southern Syria over the past month. Its warplanes flew over the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, while military vehicles penetrated the village of Eastern Samadaniyah and conducted a house raid. During August alone, the Israeli army carried out four incursions in Quneitra province, according to Syrian official media.

Reports indicate that since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, Israel has intensified strikes on Syrian military sites, including fighter jets, air defense installations, and missile systems, justifying this as an effort to prevent the military arsenal from reaching the new authorities.

Tel Aviv has also expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan by controlling the demilitarized separation zone, violating the 1974 disengagement agreement. In late August, Syrian media reported an Israeli air landing at a military site about 30 kilometers from Damascus, which Tel Aviv has not confirmed.

Damascus condemned these attacks, affirming its right to defend its land and people by means permitted under international law. Direct negotiations are currently underway between the two sides to contain tensions, the latest being a meeting last month in Paris between Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Sheibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.