Multiple Israeli military operations were reported in southwest Syria’s Quneitra Governorate over the weekend. The operations reportedly included the establishment of a new military checkpoint near the village of Ain Zeiwan and the destruction of farmland in the area.
Troops also reportedly enter Samandiyah village in Quneitra, and captured a young man near the village of Maariyah in the adjacent Daraa Governorate. The young man was released, without explanation, the following morning.
The most noteworthy presence was near the al-Mantarah Dam in the northern part of Quneitra, whgere both the IDF and the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) were present within mere meters of one another, though no interaction was confirmed to have taken place.
UNDOF personnel in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate | Image from SOHR
The UNDOF forces were there inspecting the damage caused by a previous Israeli incursion into the area, while the IDF forces were there with a military bulldozer and 50 soldiers, presumably clearing more areas.
Villagers in al-Samadaniyah al-Gharbiyah reported that their farmland had come under artillery fire from Israeli forces. There were no injuries in this incident, which only damaged some fields, and the reason behind the strikes is similarly unclear.
The lack of IDF comments on their multiple operations is extremely common, as indeed Israel only rarely discusses its military operations in Syria at all, and usually only on those rare occasions it expands beyond Quneitra and Daraa Governorates.
