Israeli forces have continued to carry out incursions into Syrian territories intermittently since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The latest incursion was into the ‘Bat Al-Warda’ area on the outskirts of Beit Jinn village in rural Damascus. According to Al Jazeera correspondent Omar Al-Haj, the area has witnessed more than 22 incursions between May and July of this year. Residents live their daily lives normally, with no displacement reported despite previous incidents including a killing and arrests by Israeli forces. Many locals even go to their fig orchards and crops which are visible just meters away from Israeli-controlled areas. Earlier, residents protested and demanded the Israeli forces leave, but were met with live fire from a force of about 100 Israeli soldiers. The Syrian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the incursions, describing them as a serious escalation and blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Since the fall of Assad’s regime in December, Israel has canceled the disengagement agreement and occupied the buffer zone, frequently advancing into the Quneitra and Daraa provinces reaching the outskirts of rural Damascus.