Lina Altawell
24 August 2026•Update: 24 August 2026
Israeli forces carried out incursions into southern Syria on Monday, entering villages in Daraa and Quneitra provinces and conducting searches, a day after Damascus and Tel Aviv held talks aimed at reducing tensions.
“Israeli occupation forces have entered the town of Maariya in the western Daraa countryside with several military vehicles and raided civilian homes,” Syrian Alikhbariah TV reported.
The forces also entered the village of Saida al-Jolan in southern Quneitra province and searched a farm in the village's vicinity, according to the broadcaster.
No further details were immediately available on whether the latest incursion resulted in damage or arrests.
On Sunday, Israeli forces raided the town of Al-Rafid in Quneitra province and arrested a shepherd, according to the channel.
Areas in southern Syria have witnessed near-daily Israeli incursions and attacks, particularly in Quneitra and Daraa provinces, including raids, searches, arrests and the establishment of military checkpoints.
On Sunday, a Syrian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a meeting in Jordan with an Israeli delegation under US mediation, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported, citing a diplomatic source at the Foreign Ministry.
“The meeting came as part of efforts aimed at reducing escalation following the latest Israeli shelling of Syrian territory and rising tensions in southern Syria,” the source said.
On Aug. 18, Israeli aircraft carried out eight airstrikes on the runway of Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, damaging its infrastructure.
On July 26, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said his country was working, with the participation of other states, to reach a security agreement with Israel.
Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967. After the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in late 2024, Israel declared the 1974 disengagement agreement collapsed and occupied the Syrian “buffer zone” and other positions, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.
