Israeli army forces carried out incursions on Tuesday, 23 December, into several areas in the countryside of Quneitra province (southwestern Syria), from more than one axis, in parallel with intensive military movements in the northern sector of the province, according to local sources who spoke to Enab Baladi.

An activist from Quneitra, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Enab Baladi that an Israeli army patrol advanced into the “al-shabab housing” area located between Kudna and Bariqa in the Quneitra countryside, and arrested two young men, Taha al Lakoud from the city of al Hara (in Daraa province, southern Syria), and Mahmoud Dakrout from Damascus, without it being clear why they were detained or where they were taken.

According to the activist, Israeli army forces conducted three incursions today, the first around the Umm Batnah barracks, the second in Sida, and the third in Bariqa, all in the Quneitra countryside.

The Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported that an Israeli force made up of seven military vehicles advanced into the village of Sida al-Hanout (in Quneitra province, southwestern Syria) this morning, moving along the road of the village of al Maqraz until it reached al Maqraz Dam, before withdrawing along the same route toward Tal Abu Ghaythar.

The agency also reported that another force consisting of three Humvee military vehicles and a civilian car set out from Tal al-Ahmar toward the village of Kudna, reaching the youth housing area, which is a cluster of abandoned residential buildings to the southeast of Bariqa.

The force searched the buildings before continuing its movement east toward Rasem Sand, then to Tel Abu Qubais, which borders the village of Ein Zuwan.

According to local sources who spoke to Enab Baladi, an Israeli patrol made up of six military vehicles headed this evening toward the Taranja area (in Quneitra countryside, southwestern Syria), in what they described as a continuation of Israeli military movements inside the area.

At the time this report was being prepared, Israeli army forces were also firing flares over the villages of Jubata al-Khashab and Taranja in the Quneitra countryside.

Previous arrests

Israeli army violations in Quneitra have continued since the fall of the former Syrian regime in December 2024. Israeli forces have been carrying out repeated incursions and searches in towns in Quneitra and Daraa provinces in southern Syria.

On 17 December, the Israeli army arrested a young man from the town of Rafid in the southern Quneitra countryside (southern Syria), during one of its incursions. It said at the time that it had arrested a person linked to the Islamic State group, while a journalist from Quneitra denied the Israeli account.

Journalist Nour Golan from Quneitra told Enab Baladi then that an Israeli force had crossed into the town of Rafid and the nearby village of al-Hiran (in Quneitra province, southwestern Syria), entering through a military gate in the fence separating the area from the occupied Golan, from the western side of Rafid. The forces then deployed in the streets of the town and along the road linking it to the village of al-Hiran, which is considered the eastern entrance to Rafid.

During the operation, Israeli forces raided a house and searched it thoroughly, then arrested a 19-year-old man, Ali Musab al-Bashir, after a scuffle broke out between him and one of the soldiers as they entered the home. He was then taken into the Israeli-occupied Golan.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on 20 December, on his Facebook page, that “the 52nd Battalion of the 474th Brigade carried out a night operation over the weekend in the al-Rafid area in southern Syria, during which it apprehended a suspect involved in terrorist activity and directed by the (Islamic State) organization,” as he put it.

However, journalist Nour Golan told Enab Baladi that the detainee is “a civilian who works at one of the farms and has no connection to the accusations leveled against him.”

In Daraa

On 10 December, the Israeli army arrested a young man from the village of Abidin in the Yarmouk Basin area in the western countryside of Daraa province (southern Syria).

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa reported that Israeli forces surrounded a house at dawn on Wednesday in the al-Arida area of Abidin village in the Yarmouk Basin (western Daraa countryside, southern Syria), before storming it and arresting a young man identified as Mohammad al-Quweder.