Israel launches new raids in Syria’s Quneitra, establishes checkpoints | Conflict News

Syrian state television denounces the Israeli incursion as another violation of the nation’s sovereignty.

Israeli forces have advanced into the Quneitra area of Syria’s occupied Golan Heights and set up two military checkpoints, an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground reports.

The Israeli military operation on Saturday took place in the villages of Ain Ziwan and al-Ajraf in the southern part of the country.

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For months, Israeli forces have conducted near-daily incursions into southern Syria, particularly in the Quneitra governorate, carrying out arrests, erecting checkpoints, and bulldozing land, all of which have prompted growing public anger and unrest.

Syrian state television said the Israeli incursion was a violation of Syrian sovereignty, noting that the army used five military vehicles to set up the checkpoint in Ain Ziwan.

The latest raid comes one day after Israeli forces advanced towards the towns of al-Asha, Bir Ajam, Bariqa, Umm al-Azam and Ruwayhina in the southern Quneitra countryside, according to the Syrian News Agency (SANA).

Dozens of Syrians on Friday protested the Israeli incursion in the city of al-Salam in the Quneitra Governorate, condemning the ongoing Israeli attacks against citizens and their properties.

The demonstrators, part of a group called “Syrians with Palestine”, held banners denouncing what they stated were repeated Israeli violations of Syrian lands.

Despite a reduction in direct military threats, the Israeli army continues to carry out air raids that have caused civilian casualties and destroyed Syrian army sites and facilities.

Over the past year, Israel has launched more than 600 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria, averaging nearly two attacks a day, according to a tally by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

Israeli military incursions have become more brazen, more frequent and more violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Disengagement accord

After al-Assad’s fall, Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement – brokered after the 1973 war, in which Syria failed to regain the occupied Golan Heights – void.

The agreement had established a UN-patrolled buffer zone, which Israel has since violated, advancing deeper into Syrian territory.

Citing al-Assad’s flight, Israel says the accord no longer applies, while carrying out air raids, ground incursions, reconnaissance flights; setting up checkpoints; and arresting or disappearing Syrians. Syria has not responded with attacks.

In September, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that Israel had conducted more than 1,000 air attacks and more than 400 ground incursions in Syria since al-Assad was overthrown, describing the actions as “very dangerous”.

Syrians believe that the continuation of these violations hinders efforts to restore stability in the region and undermines attempts to improve the economic situation in southern Syria.

Al Jazeera visited Quneitra in recent weeks and spoke to Syrians about Israeli incursions and abductions there, which have stoked fears.

Syria and Israel are currently in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israel’s air raids on its territory and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.

In the background, the United States has been pushing diplomatic efforts to restore the 1974 deal.