Key facts
- Israeli forces attacked agricultural land in Syria's Quneitra province with shells.
- A temporary military checkpoint was established by Israeli troops in Kudna.
- Over the past year, Israeli forces have seized between 600 and 800 square kilometers of southern Syrian territory.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated a desire for a new "buffer zone" on Syrian land.
- The border area was previously a UN-patrolled, demilitarized buffer zone established in a 1974 agreement.
Israeli forces attacked agricultural land in Syria's Quneitra province on Tuesday, according to local media reports. The Alikhbariah TV channel reported that Israeli occupation forces targeted agricultural land around Hamidiya village with three shells. Elsewhere in the province, Israeli troops set up a temporary military checkpoint in Kudna.
Further details indicate that Israeli tanks and troops stormed the Quneitra countryside on Monday, establishing a temporary checkpoint and searching civilians before withdrawing. This follows a year of escalating Israeli military operations in southern Syria, which local officials state have resulted in the illegal seizure of between 600 and 800 square kilometers of territory through over 200 incursions. These operations have included the establishment of nine military posts, construction of installations near villages, demolition of buildings, razing of forest land, and seizure of agricultural land, cutting off farmers' livelihoods.
In one of the deadliest attacks over the past year, thirteen Syrians were killed in an Israeli raid on the southern village of Beit Jinn. The border area in southern Syria was previously a UN-patrolled, demilitarized buffer zone established by a 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel seized most of the Golan Heights in 1967 and later built illegal settlements and annexed the area. Since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last December, Israel has occupied more Syrian territory and has been entrenching itself.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed a desire for a new "buffer zone" on Syrian land stretching to Damascus. Israeli soldiers have also installed permanent yellow gates at village entrances, restricting access to neighboring towns and obstructing main roads. Residents report that Israeli soldiers regularly stop and harass them, turning daily life into an ordeal.