A young man was injured after being targeted by the Israeli army in rural Daraa (southern Syria) on Sunday, 31 May.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa reported that Ali Ahmad Ali al-Khodr was injured after Israeli army forces directly opened fire on him while he was grazing livestock in the Wadi al-Ruqad area in western rural Daraa.

The shepherd is from the village of al-Basali, in southern rural Quneitra, according to the correspondent.

The injured man received first aid from United Nations observer forces, which were present in the area, after he was wounded in the thigh and arm. He was then transferred to Nawa Hospital in Daraa, according to the correspondent.

Nizar al-Rashdan, director of Daraa National Hospital, told the Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, that the injured man arrived at the hospital after being transferred from Nawa National Hospital. After the necessary medical examinations were conducted, it became clear that he had suffered two gunshot wounds, in the forearm and thigh.

Al-Rashdan confirmed that the injured man’s health condition is currently stable and that he is receiving continuous medical follow-up.

Israeli forces had entered Maariya village in the Yarmouk Basin area of western rural Daraa earlier on Sunday, where they set up a temporary military checkpoint at the village’s eastern entrance.

They also searched passersby, vehicles, and public transport before later withdrawing from the site, according to SANA.

Southern Syria, especially Quneitra, has been witnessing daily incursions by the Israeli army, accompanied by arrest campaigns and checkpoints, as well as incursions in rural Daraa.

Earlier Arrest of Two Shepherds

Israeli army forces arrested two people during incursions in rural Quneitra on 20 May.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra reported at the time that an Israeli army patrol entered al-Basali Farm in southern rural Quneitra, where it searched several homes and arrested Ali al-Awda, a young man from the area.

At the same time, another force entered Umm al-Loqs Farm and arrested Ali Ahmed al-Ahmed, also a young man from the area.

Another Israeli army patrol also entered the al-Kassarat area in the northern countryside and searched several facilities.

Earlier Military Escalation

Rural Quneitra witnessed a new field escalation on 14 May, represented by artillery shelling, military movements, and the arrest of civilians in several villages, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra at the time.

The Israeli army fired several artillery shells targeting the vicinity of Hamidiyah town in central rural Quneitra, causing tension in the area, with no reports of human casualties.

The artillery shells also reached agricultural land around the villages of al-Hurriya, Jubata al-Khashab, and Hamidiyah town, within rural Quneitra.

In a related context, Enab Baladi’s correspondent reported that a patrol belonging to the Israeli occupation army carried out an incursion into the village of Sida Golan, including a search campaign of several homes, which resulted in the arrest of one person from the village.

In the same context, a force affiliated with the Israeli army entered Kudna in southern rural Quneitra.

The force searched several homes inside the town before withdrawing from the area after arresting a young man, who was released hours after being detained, according to the Quneitra Media Directorate.