An Israeli force entered Abidin village in the western Daraa countryside, southern Syria, at dawn on Monday, August 17, searched the area, and detained four residents before later releasing two of them.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa reported that an Israeli patrol of more than ten vehicles left the al-Jazeera post and traveled via Wadi Road to Abidin. Infantry soldiers entered the village, cut off sections from one another, began a search operation, and detained four people.

Israeli army forces later released two of the detainees, according to a local source quoting forces from the UN Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF.

The operation came two days after a raid on Abidin aimed at reopening a road that residents had blocked to obstruct the advance of Israeli army forces. An Israeli force reopened the road and cut down several olive trees to improve visibility and monitor it, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent.

Israeli army forces had entered the Yarmouk Basin in the Daraa countryside on August 15 with eight military vehicles coming from the Tal Abu Ghaithar gate toward Jamlah. The forces then positioned themselves on the bridge in Saisoun village, among residential neighborhoods.

On August 14, Civil Defense teams, assisted by residents, extinguished a fire that broke out in woodland near Rafid (Quneitra, southern Syria) af Ikhbariya ter the Israeli army fired illumination flares into the area, according to al-Ikhbariya.

The Israeli army regularly carries out detention operations targeting young Syrians in the south, releasing some after hours in custody while taking others to unknown locations. No information is available about where some of those detainees are being held or the conditions they face in Israeli prisons.

Release After Previous Detentions

Israeli forces released two detainees from Quneitra Governorate in southern Syria on August 5.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra reported that the Israeli army released Ahmed Abdul Hamid al-Karyan and Mizer Majed al-Hutaimi, both from Suwaysah in the southern countryside of the governorate.

The correspondent said the two were released after spending a year in Israeli prisons.

The Quneitra Media Directorate said the two men were released through government efforts, without providing further details about the nature of those efforts.

Their release came days after a similar operation involving two other young men, one from the Quneitra countryside and the other from Rural Damascus.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent reported on July 29 that the Israeli army had released Hossam al-Safadi from Beit Jinn (western Rural Damascus, southern Syria) and Marwan Hossam al-Karyan from Suwaysah in the southern Quneitra countryside.

The correspondent added that the released detainees indicated that further releases of Syrian detainees held in Israeli prisons were expected in the coming period.

The correspondent said the total number of Syrian detainees held in Israeli prisons exceeds 40.

On August 11, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reaffirmed its categorical rejection of continued Israeli attacks and incursions into Syrian territory, calling on all countries and international organizations to fulfill their responsibilities in upholding international law and United Nations resolutions.