The Israeli Army Radio reported that the recent assault on the village of Abdeen in southern Syria was part of an Israeli military operation carried out inside Syrian territory. According to the broadcast, the operation involved ground movements and clashes with an armed cell allegedly preparing to infiltrate areas under Israeli control.
Citing a military source, the radio said Israeli forces struck a cell that had been under surveillance, claiming security assessments indicated the group was moving toward the border to conduct a major infiltration attempt. The source added that the operation began last Saturday, when Israeli forces conducted field activities and deployed two military companies for roughly 24 hours at former Syrian military posts within the operations zone. At the same time, special forces reportedly moved against the cell based on intelligence suggesting it intended to cross through the valley area in southern Syria.
The military source further alleged that Israel’s establishment of additional positions in the area, along with strikes on armed elements linked to Syrian government forces, prompted calls for local gunmen to gather in Abdeen and confront Israeli troops. The source claimed that one Israeli unit came under fire while withdrawing from a position, returned fire, and completed its withdrawal without casualties.
Following the confrontation, Israeli helicopters and drones continued sweeping operations in search of additional combatants. Military estimates suggested that armed individuals had arrived on motorcycles from nearby villages and were later evacuated by trucks after the incident. The source said the cell was eliminated under the direction of ground forces from the Sixth Brigade shortly before reaching the border, framing the operation as part of ongoing efforts to neutralize threats originating from southern Syria.
These developments follow a separate incursion at midnight Friday–Saturday, when an Israeli force of eight military vehicles and a tank advanced from the Tal Abu Ghaithar checkpoint toward the Wadi al-Raqad area on the administrative boundary between Quneitra and Daraa provinces. The force entered the town of Jamla, deployed across its neighborhoods, and searched several homes while reconnaissance drones patrolled overhead.
On Sunday, southern Syria witnessed a sharp escalation as Israeli actions shifted from cross-border incursions, checkpoints, home raids, and civilian interrogations to direct aerial and ground strikes. Israeli forces targeted Abdeen village in the Yarmouk Basin region of western Daraa with heavy helicopter machine-gun fire and artillery shells, though no casualties were reported at the time of writing.
Local sources told Ultra Syria that four Israeli military vehicles advanced to the outskirts of Abdeen before sunset, blocking its entrance. The move sparked widespread anger among residents, prompting youths and children to throw stones at the patrol. Personnel from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) intervened to restrain the children and de-escalate the situation.
According to the sources, the Israeli patrol responded to the stone-throwing by firing warning shots into the air, which led some local youths to fire shots over the soldiers’ heads. Israeli forces then besieged the village, establishing checkpoints to inspect civilians—including children—and searching mobile phones while preventing residents from leaving the area.
In response, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued a statement condemning the Israeli actions. The ministry described the incursions and artillery strikes as flagrant violations of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling them renewed breaches of international law, the United Nations Charter, and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
