Israeli forces entered the village of Abidin in western Deraa province on 29 June and shelled the area with artillery and helicopter-mounted machine guns, according to Syrian state media and local civil defence officials. The operation caused residents to flee to neighbouring towns overnight, though the Syrian Civil Defence reported no casualties and said the displaced had since returned. Material damage to farmland and property was recorded.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the incursions “in the strongest terms,” describing them as a “blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a breach of the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement. In a statement, Damascus called on the United Nations and the international community to assume their responsibilities and take measures to halt what it termed repeated Israeli violations.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry expressed its “condemnation and denunciation” of the Israeli operations, stressing the need to stop “infringements on the sovereignty of Syrian territory” and to comply with the 1974 disengagement accord. Qatar’s foreign ministry, in a separate statement, warned that continued Israeli “aggressions” would escalate tensions and undermine efforts to strengthen security and stability, and urged the international community to restrain Israel and hold it accountable. Both Gulf states reaffirmed their support for Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.

The Israeli military said its forces had “neutralised a number of armed individuals in the security zone” in southern Syria, without specifying the location or number. The incursions are part of a pattern of Israeli ground movements and strikes in Deraa and Quneitra provinces that have intensified since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Israeli forces have repeatedly moved beyond the demilitarised buffer zone established after the 1973 war, a zone that the 1974 agreement was designed to keep free of military presence. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised by the international community except the United States.

The Syrian government has called for international enforcement of the disengagement agreement, but no concrete steps have been announced. Israeli military overflights continue over the southern countryside, and the situation remains tense.