Israeli army launches new incursion into Syria’s Quneitra

The Israeli army launched a new incursion into Syria's Quneitra province late Saturday and positioned forces inside prefabricated structures that were brought to the area the previous day, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. SANA said an Israeli force made up of two tanks and two military vehicles entered the eastern Tal al-Ahmar hill in southern Quneitra and took up positions inside prefabricated rooms it had brought to the site Friday. Read: EU to restore Syria relations, strengthen trade and security ties, document shows Israeli forces entered the area Friday with a bulldozer and several prefabricated structures, though no explanation was given for the move at the time. The latest Israeli violation of Syrian sovereignty came despite Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s remarks that Damascus is serious about reaching a security agreement with Israel. Al-Sharaa said Thursday in an interview with Anadolu that Syria seeks “some kind of security agreement” with Israel that would preserve stability in the region. He added that the talks had not reached a dead end, but were moving with “extreme difficulty” because of Israel’s insistence on remaining on Syrian territory. Read More: PM Shehbaz urges de-escalation and dialogue on Middle East crisis in talks with Syria, Oman leaders After the fall of former Syrian president Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024, Israel declared the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and moved to occupy the buffer zone along the frontier. Despite the new Syrian administration not issuing threats toward Israel, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes in Syria since Assad’s ouster, killing civilians and targeting military sites, equipment and ammunition.