Beyond routine military operations, Israeli forces look to be deepening their control and monitoring capabilities along Quneitra’s border strip and southern Syria. In western Daraa, forces routinely establish temporary checkpoints, search homes and conduct military patrols. Israeli forces also continue to temporarily detain Syrian citizens in the south-west. Most detainees are eventually released, albeit after several hours of questioning. Israel’s increased activity remains in violation of Syria’s sovereignty and threatens to undermine its changes of a peaceful political transition. Beyond Israeli activity, localized violence through targeted killings and kidnappings remain a regular feature of the south Syria landscape.
Israeli Security Actions
Israeli activity is intensifying in western Daraa, where ground forces continued regular incursions across a wide swathe of western Daraa and Quneitra province, with operations targeting Abidin, Al-Asbah, Bureiqah, Al-Hiran, Jamleh, Jubata al-Khashab, Khan Arnabeh, Kudnah, Ma’ariyeh, Al-Rafid, Saida al-Jolan, Um al-Louks, the Um al-Azzam Dam area and surrounding locations. Forces routinely established temporary checkpoints, searched homes and agricultural properties, and conducted military patrols inside Syrian territory without making permanent deployments. In one of the largest documented incursions of the month, more than 60 Israeli soldiers supported by military vehicles entered Jubata al-Khashab, conducting extensive searches and establishing checkpoints south of the town. Near-daily incursions into Jamleh and repeated operations west of Abidin highlighted the particular concentration of Israeli activity there.
Israeli forces also continued their practice of short-term detentions during incursions into communities in the south-west. Arrests and temporary detentions were reported in Abidin, Jubata al-Khashab, Kudnah, Saida al-Jolan and Um al-Louks, with most detainees released after several hours of questioning. In at least one such incident, two residents of Um al-Louks were arrested and transferred into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Regular Israeli artillery attacks continued across western Daraa and Quneitra throughout May, with repeated shelling targeting the outskirts of Abidin, Jamleh, Jubata al-Khashab, Kudnah, Al-Rafid, Al-Samdaniyeh, Taranjeh and the Um al-Azzam Dam area. No casualties were reported, despite multiple rounds repeatedly striking agricultural and rural areas. The pattern of strikes largely mirrored recent months, consisting of intermittent artillery fire directed at communities near the border strip.
Israeli forces continued to block farmers from Abidin, Jamleh, Koyah and Ma’ariyeh from accessing agricultural land west of their communities throughout the month, maintaining and in some areas expanding the de facto exclusion zone established in previous months. Israeli troops repeatedly opened fire toward agricultural land and farmers near the towns without causing casualties, underscoring continued efforts to enforce access restrictions through military pressure.
Military & Security Developments
Internal Security forces conducted regular targeted raids and arrest operations across Daraa, with a particular focus on former regime affiliates, criminal suspects and individuals accused of past security violations. Additional arrests targeted individuals accused of assassinations, grenade attacks, collaboration with regime security services and other criminal offenses. Internal Security offices across Daraa also began formally accepting complaints regarding violations committed by former regime personnel and collaborators, while arrests continued against former military, intelligence and security figures accused of involvement in abuses under the previous regime. Operations targeted both senior officers and local affiliates, including former Military Intelligence personnel and individuals accused of carrying out assassinations during the conflict period. Internal Security also arrested several individuals accused of involvement in drug distribution and cross-border smuggling.
Instability in South-West Syria
Targeted killings and assassination attempts remained a regular feature of the security landscape across south-west Syria throughout May, with attacks primarily targeting civilians and former opposition figures. While the majority of attacks resulted in injuries rather than fatalities, at least three individuals were killed in recent weeks.
Armed confrontations linked to criminal networks, narcotics trafficking, personal disputes and local rivalries also continued throughout the month, with incidents reported across Assem, Al-Hirak, Al-Lajat, Mahajjeh and Sahem. Several clashes were directly linked to drug-trafficking disputes. Elsewhere, armed disputes between local families, civilians and security personnel resulted in multiple injuries, including clashes in Al-Hirak, Mahajjeh and Sahem.
