New Israeli Incursion in Quneitra and House Searches in Al-Rafid

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Israeli forces infiltrated the town of Al-Rafid in southern Quneitra on Saturday, coinciding with gunfire above homes in the village of Taranja in the northern part of the governorate, in the latest Israeli military move inside Syrian territory.

According to the Syrian news agency "SANA", an Israeli tank stationed on Hill Al-Hamriya fired above the homes in the village of Taranja in northern Quneitra.

At the same time, three Israeli military vehicles entered the town of Al-Rafid in the southern countryside, where the agency reported that the forces searched several homes and assaulted an elderly man before withdrawing from the area. Other news sources reported the same account citing official Syrian media.

There was no immediate information about casualties resulting from the gunfire in Taranja, nor was there an immediate Israeli comment regarding the details of the operation reported by the Syrian agency.

The developments came a day after an Israeli force infiltrated the Wadi Al-Ruqad area in the Yarmouk Basin in western Daraa.

According to Syrian media, the force entered the area on Friday and fired at a shepherd and his children, without recording any injuries, before leaving. Local reports had already mentioned the entry of an Israeli patrol consisting of three vehicles into Wadi Al-Ruqad and firing during its presence in the area.

Southern Syria has witnessed repeated Israeli movements during September, particularly concentrated in Quneitra and Daraa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 11 ground incursions and 8 shelling operations between September 18 and 24 in Quneitra, Daraa, and western Damascus countryside.

The observatory also documented 45 Israeli incursions and military movements inside Syrian territory during the first half of September, stating that they included several villages and towns, including Al-Rafid and Taranja, in addition to search and detention operations and the establishment of temporary checkpoints.

Al-Rafid itself had witnessed Israeli movements and shelling earlier in the month, as Syrian reports on September 6 indicated the entry of five military vehicles to the outskirts of the town before their withdrawal, coinciding with artillery shells fired towards the area.

Damascus claims that the Israeli movements represent a violation of its sovereignty and the disengagement agreement signed in 1974, demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory.

The Israeli army, on the other hand, states that its operations in the area aim to eliminate threats to Israel's security. It announced on September 24 that forces from the 210th division had carried out operations in what it calls the "security zone" in Syria over the past months, which included detaining suspects, finding weapons, and destroying what it described as "terrorist infrastructure."