Israeli occupation forces have conducted a new incursion into Syria’s southwestern Dara’a province despite a meeting between the top diplomat of Syria’s ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the director of the Israeli spy agency Mossad to ease tensions following an attack on an airport in northern Syria.
Al-Ikhbariyah Syria television news channel reported that an Israeli military convoy rolled into the village of Ma’ariya in the western countryside of the province early on Monday. However, no abductions were reported.
On Sunday, Israeli troops carried out an incursion into Syria’s southern Quneitra province and abducted a civilian.
Local media said Israeli forces advanced west of the town of al-Rafid and kidnapped a shepherd.
The region has experienced multiple Israeli incursions over the past few days, with reports indicating another advance to the west of al-Rafid on Friday.
The new Israeli incursions come as Syria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad al-Shaibani and Mossad director Roman Gofman held a high-level meeting in Jordan on Sunday.
Two informed sources told AFP news agency that they discussed issues such as establishing “a special operations room” in Jordan, under the supervision of the US, to avert any potential confrontations in Syria, including those that may involve Turkey.
Axios, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, reported that the meeting was aimed at “lowering the temperature,” following the escalating rhetoric between the two sides.
On August 18, Israeli warplanes carried out eight airstrikes on the runway of the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in the northwestern Idlib province, damaging its infrastructure as a Turkish military delegation was visiting the site.
After the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in early December 2024, the Israeli military has been carrying out airstrikes targeting military sites, installations, and stockpiles once managed by the Syrian army.
Israel has encountered significant backlash for terminating the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria and exploiting the disorder in the war-ravaged country to acquire land.
Most Israeli strikes have been focused in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Dara’a, and Damascus, representing around 80 percent of all documented Israeli assaults.
