Israel launched artillery strikes on the outskirts of the town of Koya in western Daraa countryside (southern Syria) on the evening of Wednesday, October 22, as Israeli army incursions in the southern region have recently intensified.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa reported that the Israeli army fired three shells at farmland about 300 meters away from civilian homes.

No direct damage or casualties were recorded, the correspondent added, but residents of the town have been gripped by fear and anxiety since the shelling.

Koya is located in the western countryside of Daraa, within the fertile Yarmouk Basin area, which holds strategic importance as it lies at the tri-border junction of Syria, Jordan, and Israel, about 40 kilometers from Daraa city center.

While Israel has not commented on the incident at the time of publishing, Israeli media merely cited Syrian outlets. Channel 7 reported that the Israeli army fired three shells toward the northwest of Koya in western Daraa, adding that Israel has not officially responded to these reports.

Locals confront Israeli patrol

On September 21, several residents of Koya gathered to confront an Israeli force comprising three vehicles in the nearby villages of Maariyah and Abidin in western Daraa. No exchange of fire occurred between the residents and the force, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent.

A local from Koya, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said that the Israeli force advanced from Maariyah, where Israeli troops frequently conduct incursions, toward Koya and fired at stones placed on the dirt road linking the two villages, fearing they might be rigged with explosives, before withdrawing toward Abidin.

Israeli threats to Koya’s residents

Shortly after the fall of the former regime on December 8, 2024, Israeli forces crossed into Syrian territory, breaching the disengagement line (Bravo Line) and advancing within days to the outskirts of Koya.

The town lies about four kilometers from the demarcation line between Syrian and Israeli territories, separated by Maariyah village, and less than two kilometers from the Yarmouk River, which forms the natural boundary between Syria and Jordan.

About a week after the regime’s collapse, the Israeli army demanded that residents surrender their weapons to the so-called “joint operations unit,” ban military uniforms in public, and refrain from harboring outsiders in their towns. They also asked for lists of local dignitaries and influential figures.

According to one of Koya’s elders, the Israeli side’s tone during negotiations carried clear threats of storming and destroying the village if its conditions were not met. The Israeli officers reportedly told local notables, “If you do not comply with our terms, count your houses , we will replace them with tents,” implying forced displacement through shelling.

Repeated incursions in Koya

On September 14, Israeli occupation forces carried out a ground incursion into the western Daraa countryside, conducting house-to-house searches inside residential areas.

According to Enab Baladi’s correspondent, the raiding force, consisting of 18 military vehicles, stormed residents’ homes in the village of Saisoun and conducted searches for weapons without making arrests.

The Israeli forces also set up checkpoints at the entrances to the village, while other vehicles deployed around the nearby Jamlah post without storming it or searching its houses.