Israeli forces shell rural Quneitra, abduct 2 men

Israeli forces shelled an area in Syria’s southern Quneitra province and abducted two young men in a separate raid Thursday, according to media reports.

Alikhbariah TV said Israeli forces fired four artillery shells at a forested area near Briqa village in central rural Quneitra.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces raided several homes in the town of Jabata al-Khashab in northern rural Quneitra and abducted the young men, according to the broadcaster.

Areas of southern Syria, particularly Quneitra and Daraa provinces, have witnessed repeated Israeli incursions involving military checkpoints, home searches and the detention of civilians.

Quneitra’s Media Directorate documented 125 Israeli incursions and 55 instances of checkpoints being established in the province in October, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency.

The directorate also recorded the uprooting of 300 olive trees in the village of Saida al-Hanout and west of Mazraat al-Hanout during that month.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8, 2024, Israel has expanded its military presence in the buffer zone along the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and carried out incursions into other areas of southern Syria.

The moves have continued despite the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement between Syria and Israel, which established a buffer zone monitored by the UN Disengagement Observer Force.