Israeli military activity in southern Syria intensified on Saturday as ground troops pushed further into the Quneitra governorate, establishing new military checkpoints in a move that has further strained regional tensions.
According to reports from the ground, the operation centered on the villages of Ain Ziwan and al-Ajraf. Witnesses described at least five military vehicles moving into Ain Ziwan to set up a permanent presence, marking a significant hardening of Israel’s footprint in the area.
This latest incursion is not an isolated event. Over the past several months, the border region has seen near-daily Israeli activity, ranging from land bulldozing to the arrest of local residents. The frequency of these moves has sparked widespread resentment among the local population, who view the actions as a direct assault on their livelihoods and safety.
The geopolitical landscape changed drastically following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad administration in late 2024. In the power vacuum that followed, Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement—a decades-old UN-monitored truce—null and void. Since then, the once-quiet buffer zone has become a theater for frequent ground maneuvers and reconnaissance flights.
Syrian state television condemned the weekend’s maneuvers as a blatant violation of national sovereignty. The rhetoric from Damascus has grown increasingly urgent; President Ahmed al-Sharaa recently noted that Israel has conducted over 1,000 air strikes and 400 ground incursions since the fall of the previous government.
On Friday, the anger spilled into the streets. In the city of al-Salam, dozens of Syrians gathered under the “Syrians with Palestine” banner, protesting the destruction of property and the ongoing military presence. For many, these incursions are seen as a deliberate attempt to destabilize the south just as the country tries to rebuild.
Despite the friction on the ground, a parallel diplomatic track is reportedly in motion. Damascus and Israel are currently engaged in delicate talks aimed at securing an Israeli withdrawal and a cessation of the air raids that have regularly targeted Syrian military sites and infrastructure.
The United States has also been active in the background, attempting to revive the core tenets of the 1974 deal to prevent a localized skirmish from spiraling into a broader regional conflict. However, as the new checkpoints in Ain Ziwan suggest, the reality on the ground is moving faster than the pace of diplomacy.
For the residents of Quneitra, the immediate concern is the loss of freedom of movement. The new roadblocks and the threat of abductions have cast a long shadow over a region that has already endured decades of war and displacement.
