Israeli forces have launched regular ground incursions into Syria since the fall of the Assad regime [Getty]
Israeli forces launched a new incursion in southwestern Syria, reportedly reaching their deepest point since they first launched their ground invasions after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that Israeli forces parachuted into the village of Tal al-Mal and a former military outpost in the north of Daraa province on Monday, before withdrawing on Tuesday morning.
They destroyed facilities and excavated sites for no apparent reason, according to local residents. They also blocked the road connecting the towns of Mashara and Al-Tiha in Quneitra province.
The incursions in the southwest came hours after Israel bombed military sites near the port of Tartus in northwestern Syria.
Israel has regularly launched airstrikes against Syria and began ground incursions into a demilitarised zone separating the Golan Heights from the rest of Syria ever since the fall of the Assad regime.
It has threatened Syrian troops, ordering them to leave Syria’s three southern provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suweida, while trying to position itself as a “protector” of Syria’s Druze, Alawi, and Kurdish minorities and advancing plans to partition the country.
Yousef Al-Muslih, a media activist, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Israeli incursion into Tal Al-Mal was its deepest yet into southern Syria, adding that Israeli forces reached 14 kilometres away from the occupied Golan Heights.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “the presence of Islamist groups on the border would be extremely dangerous for Israel,” adding that Israel’s “safety” was more important than Syria’s territorial integrity.
At the Arab League Summit on Tuesday, Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa called for immediate international pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops from southern Syria.
The “hostile (Israeli) expansion is not only a violation of Syrian sovereignty but also a direct threat to security and peace in the entire region”, he said.
