Quneitra, southwest Syria – Israeli forces carried out a new series of incursions on Wednesday evening into several villages in the countryside of Quneitra in south-west Syria.
According to our correspondent, an Israeli unit made up of six military vehicles carrying soldiers advanced from the road linking Umm Batnah towards the villages of al-Khawalid and Mumtannah in northern Quneitra.
Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported a similar account, stating that three Israeli armoured vehicles pushed along the same route towards the villages of Rasm al-Khawalid and Mumtannah.
The agency added that this operation followed an earlier incursion only hours before, when two Israeli vehicles carrying troops advanced towards the village of Bariqa, reaching the local exchange station in northern Quneitra before withdrawing.
Israeli forces also moved into the villages of Ruwayhinah and Umm al-Azam in the northern part of the province before pulling back shortly afterwards, SANA said.
A third Israeli unit reportedly erected a temporary checkpoint on the road linking the village of Rasm al-Shawali with Umm al-Azam at the entrance to the al-Mantara dam road, where soldiers carried out inspections of passing civilians.
On Monday, the Israeli army began military drills on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to test operational readiness. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the General Staff had launched the “Shield and Strength” exercise across the Galilee and the Golan, aimed at assessing preparedness for a range of scenarios through command-level training.
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A spokesperson for the Israeli army said the manoeuvres were an unannounced drill designed to test the readiness of the 210th Division for emergency situations, adding that increased troop movements should be expected in the area.
Further reports on Saturday from Syrian state television Al-Ikhbariyah stated that an Israeli force consisting of two military vehicles and two tanks moved from the western Red Hill towards its eastern counterpart in rural Quneitra. A second patrol made up of six vehicles conducted operations in the towns of Beer Ajam and Bariqa, as well as the villages of western and eastern Zubaydah.
The channel added that a third patrol – made up of three vehicles – entered Ayn Ziwan and advanced towards Abu Qabees without encountering any checkpoints during its movement.
These operations came a day after Israeli forces entered the outskirts of the village of Sayda al-Hanout, where they set up a temporary checkpoint between the village and the Al-Maghatirah farm. This was the second Israeli incursion into Sayda al-Hanout this month, following a previous entry on 16 November when a five-vehicle Israeli unit moved through the village before withdrawing.
