UNDOF patrols Daraa countryside after Israeli strikes, amid Arab condemnation of escalation

Local sources told ANHA agency that residents of the village of Abidin returned to their homes after being displaced overnight following Israeli shelling that targeted the village and its surroundings, coinciding with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from their positions on Tal al-Maghar.

Three vehicles belonging to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) entered the villages of Jamlah and Abidin in the Yarmouk Basin area of western Daraa countryside on Monday. The UN personnel met with local residents and gathered testimonies regarding the Israeli incursions and their impact on security and living conditions before leaving the area after completing their field visit.

Meanwhile, Arab condemnation of the Israeli incursions into the governorates of Daraa and Quneitra continued. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar denounced the military operations, reaffirming their rejection of violations of Syrian sovereignty and calling for an end to the escalation and respect for Syria's unity and territorial integrity.

Israel has expanded its military deployment in southern Syria to include areas on Mount Hermon and beyond the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, extending to the outskirts of Qatana, about 20 kilometres southwest of Damascus, following the collapse of the Baath regime in late 2024.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said days earlier that Israel would maintain its presence in what he described as a "security zone" in southern Syria, as well as in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, "for an unlimited period," saying the deployment is intended to eliminate any potential threat.

The developments come as previous rounds of Syrian-Israeli talks have failed to produce a security agreement, with tensions continuing across southern Syria.

It is worth mentioning that on Sunday, Israeli forces carried out a ground incursion into villages in the Yarmouk Basin area of the western Daraa countryside, accompanied by shelling that triggered limited displacement from the village of Abidin and imposed restrictions on the movement of residents and farmers.