Israel has persistently carried out incursions and airstrikes on southern Syria [Getty]
An Israeli military unit entered Syrian territory in the Quneitra province on Saturday evening, marking a new escalation just one day after Israeli airstrikes targeted military positions along the country’s western coastline.
According to activist Mohammad Abu Hashish, the Israeli force, comprising two military vehicles and approximately 20 soldiers, entered the area and established a presence at the old checkpoint between the towns of Jaba and Khan Arnabeh in rural Quneitra. The site is formerly known as the Saqri checkpoint.
Abu Hashish told The New Arab’s Arabic sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the soldiers usually stop and search any passersby they find, with the apparent aim of instilling fear among residents and confining them to their homes, especially during the night”.
The incident followed a confrontation on Friday in the village of Rwihinah, where residents clashed with an Israeli patrol. Villagers intercepted a military jeep near the Rwihinah dam, forcing it to retreat by pelting it with stones.
Locals seized and burned an Israeli flag attached to the vehicle while chanting slogans rejecting Israel’s presence in the area.
On the same evening, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes targeting Syrian army positions in Latakia and Tartus provinces. Nour al-Din Brimo, head of media relations in Latakia, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the airstrikes targeted the 107th Brigade site near the village of Zama in the Jabla countryside south of Latakia”.
He added that another Israeli strike hit a military location between Dweir Taha and Western Blata in northern Tartus, resulting in the death of one civilian, according to local sources who also spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Ever since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel has expanded its illegal occupation of Syria, moving into the Golan Heights buffer zone and frequently carrying out incursions and strikes on southern Syria.
In a separate incident, Syrian authorities reported major security developments in Latakia and Aleppo provinces. In Latakia, security forces arrested Mazen Qara Jannah, a former agent of Assad’s Political Security Branch known as ‘Branch 223’.
According to a statement from the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Qara Jannah had been operating in opposition-controlled areas before the fall of Assad.
“His reports contributed to the targeting of several civilians and military personnel by the forces of the former regime at the time,” the statement noted. He has since been referred to the competent judiciary for legal proceedings.
In Aleppo, the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, in cooperation with the Internal Security Directorate in the Al-Safira area of eastern Aleppo countryside, announced the arrest of a drug-smuggling cell attempting to traffic hashish.
The Directorate said in a statement:
“As part of ongoing efforts by the Anti-Narcotics Directorate to curb the spread of narcotic substances that are devastating to society, and in cooperation with the Internal Security Directorate in Al-Safira, approximately 800 kilograms of hashish were seized.”
The drugs, it stated, were “hidden inside barrels designed for transporting foodstuffs and were being prepared for smuggling to a European country”.
All individuals involved have been transferred to the judiciary for further legal action.