Several areas of the Quneitra countryside (southwestern Syria) witnessed incursions by Israeli forces on Sunday, October 18, accompanied by the use of stun grenades, gunfire directed toward agricultural land, house searches, and the bulldozing of farmland and olive trees, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra.
The correspondent reported that Israeli forces advanced toward Tal al-Ahmar, near Ain al-Nouriya in the northern Quneitra countryside, and fired stun grenades before ascending the hill. Once there, they opened fire toward agricultural land surrounding Mazare al-Amal and Ain al-Nouriya.
An Israeli patrol also advanced toward Tal al-Hamriya and the village of al-Hurriya in northern Quneitra, while reconnaissance drones flew overhead.
In the central Quneitra countryside, Israeli forces entered the village of al-Ajraf with approximately 15 military vehicles. Troops deployed among residential buildings and searched civilian homes, according to the correspondent.
In southern Quneitra, Israeli forces bulldozed an area of farmland and olive trees during a morning incursion into the village of Saida al-Hanout.
Damascus Condemns Israeli Incursions
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the escalation of Israeli military incursions into Quneitra governorate and the Daraa countryside over recent days, alongside increased flights by helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft, and warplanes over southern Syria.
In a statement published through its official channels on Sunday, October 18, the ministry said these movements constituted a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. It warned of their implications for the security and safety of civilians amid continuing Israeli military operations in the southern region.
The ministry said the continued Israeli incursions, combined with intensified flights by various types of aircraft over southern Syria, undermined prospects for achieving security and stability across the region in general and Syria in particular.
It added that these violations were obstructing reconstruction and recovery efforts.
Call for International Action
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities and put an end to Israeli violations, demanding that Israel be compelled to comply with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
The ministry said halting these violations would help prevent further tensions in the region and create the conditions necessary to achieve lasting security and stability.
Repeated Incursions
The governorates of Daraa and Quneitra witnessed Israeli military incursions on October 15, accompanied by violations against residents.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa reported that an Israeli military patrol consisting of approximately 12 vehicles entered the village of Abdin in the Yarmouk Basin and searched several homes on Thursday evening. Earlier that morning, Israeli forces had set fire to a hay storage facility belonging to a livestock owner in Wadi al-Ruqad.
The incidents coincided with attacks on private property in Saida al-Hanout, where solar panels powering several wells and a resident’s water tanker were damaged.
The official Syrian television channel al-Ikhbariya reported that approximately ten Israeli military vehicles advanced near Abdin Dam, west of Daraa, while Israeli warplanes flew over the governorate.
According to al-Ikhbariya, Israeli forces opened fire indiscriminately toward farms and searched homes in the eastern neighborhood of Abdin during the military incursion.
Violations in Quneitra
In Quneitra, Israeli forces prevented shepherds from grazing their livestock in Wadi al-Ruqad. The forces had previously damaged water tankers to prevent grazing activities.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra reported that, after preventing shepherds from accessing their land, Israeli forces bulldozed farmland and uprooted productive olive trees on the western side of al-Hanout Farm in the village of Sida Golan, southern Quneitra.
Israeli forces also detonated abandoned military barracks near the village of Baqasem, on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the western Damascus countryside.