Israeli forces set up checkpoint, search houses in southern Syria: Report
Israeli troops have advanced towards the village of Saida al-Hanout in the countryside of Quneitra, in southern Syria, near the border of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.
A SANA correspondent reported that the forces, comprising eight military vehicles, set up a checkpoint at the village’s first entrance, while a number of soldiers entered the village and began searching several houses.
Local sources also told the news agency that residents refused the Israeli forces’ offer of food aid as well as to answer questions about the situation in Syria.
Yesterday, Israeli forces released two citizens who had been arrested while passing through a checkpoint set up by the Israeli military between the town of Umm Batna and the village of al-Ajraf.
According to a tally by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Israel has launched more than 600 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria since a lightning offensive by allied opposition groups led to the end of the al-Assad dynasty’s 54-year reign.
What’s behind Israel’s attacks on Syria?
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year, Israeli attacks have escalated against Syria.
Israel claims it is trying to prevent weapons from landing in the hands of “extremists” – a term that most recently includes Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian opposition group that led the overthrow of al-Assad.
But while President Ahmed al-Sharaa has repeatedly said his government wants no conflict with Israel and would not allow his country to be used by foreign actors to launch attacks, Israel has been undeterred.
Following al-Assad’s fall, Israel captured more land on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and established military outposts.
The main crux of Israeli attacks on Syria is concentrated on the southern Syrian governorates of Quneitra, Deraa, and Damascus, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all recorded attacks.
