Israeli forces raid homes in Quneitra and detain young men in Daraa

Israeli forces entered the town of al-Rafid, in the southern Quneitra countryside, late on Saturday and searched a number of homes, according to reports.

A second incursion was reported on Monday morning in the village of Abidin, in the western Daraa countryside, where about 10 military vehicles took part and several young men were taken away.

Neither report gave a figure for the size of the force at al-Rafid, and the reports carried no Israeli comment on either incursion.

Southern Syria has seen repeated incursions of this kind for months, including house raids, searches, arrests and the setting up of military checkpoints.

The pattern matters more than any single night. A checkpoint placed on a farm road or a search that empties a house at night sets the limits of what people in these villages can do the following day, and the limits move without notice.

Israeli forces advanced into the buffer zone in southern Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in late 2024, and Israel then declared the 1974 disengagement agreement no longer in force.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has condemned what he described as continuing Israeli violations that undermine the security of the region, and has said efforts are under way to reach a security arrangement with Israel.