Israel advances into Quneitra, sets up checkpoints in occupied Golan

Summary

Israeli forces moved into the Quneitra area of Syria’s occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, establishing two military checkpoints in the villages of Ain Ziwan and al-Ajraf, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported. Syrian state media said five Israeli military vehicles were used to set up the checkpoint in Ain Ziwan. The action is part of near-daily Israeli incursions into southern Syria — including arrests, bulldozing, reconnaissance flights and checkpoints — that have sparked local protests, notably by a group called “Syrians with Palestine” in al-Salam, and increased public anger across the Quneitra governorate.

The raids come amid a broader pattern of Israeli air, drone and artillery strikes that have caused civilian casualties and damaged Syrian army sites. Monitoring group ACLED recorded more than 600 attacks across Syria in the past year, and Syrian officials say the pace and intensity of strikes and ground operations have surged since President Bashar al-Assad’s ousting in December 2024, after which Israel declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void. Damascus has not launched a military response; instead, Syria and Israel — with U.S. diplomatic involvement — are in talks aimed at halting air raids and securing Israeli withdrawals from southern Syrian territory, as reported by Al Jazeera