The situation in southern Syria has escalated once again. Israeli forces entered the village of Al-Asbah in Quneitra province and, according to the Al-Ikhbariya television channel, began searching homes. The Israel Defense Forces said they had killed a “suspect” who, according to their account, had attempted to infiltrate an Israeli facility in the security zone in southern Syria. According to the Syrian side, illumination rounds were fired over Al-Hamidiyah at the same time, while drones flew overhead, heightening anxiety among local residents.
The raid came after Israeli forces resumed earthworks on Sunday along the separation line with the occupied Golan Heights, west of the village of Al-Asha. Damascus describes this as a continuation of violations in the buffer zone covered by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement. The project, known as “Sofa-53,” or “The Great Storm,” was launched by Israel in 2022 and has gradually expanded from the Hadar area in northern Quneitra through Jabata al-Khashab and Al-Hamidiyah to Qahtaniyah, Ruwayhinah, Bir Ajam and Breikah.
According to the Syrian side, the project’s expansion has already rendered thousands of dunams of farmland unsuitable for cultivation and grazing, while also damaging waterways and the natural environment. Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government on December 8, 2024, Israel further expanded its military operations in Syria and moved forces into the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights and nearby areas. Syria is demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces and insisting that the 1974 agreement be upheld, while Israel says its actions are driven by security concerns.
Full version: Israeli occupation forces advance into rural Quneitra and announce the killing of a “suspect”