In December of 2024, immediately following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israel invaded southwest Syria, and occupied a substantial swathe of land including the UNDOF demilitarized zone and Mount Hermon. Throughout negotiations and persistent further Israeli incursions, Israeli officials have insisted they don’t intend to ever return control over Mount Hermon, despite the fairly significant factor that it’s legally part of Syria.
Over the weekend, Israeli forces in the Mount Hermon area spent their time attacking and destroying former Assad-era military sites. Israeli officials have yet to comment on exactly why they chose now to strike the long-abandoned sites in territory they already militarily occupy.
The incident comes a little over a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the mountain. Netanyahu bragged Israel had absolute control over everything from Mount Hermon to the Yarmouk River.
Israeli checkpoint in western Daraa Governorate | Image from SOHR
Speaking of the Yarmouk River Basin, Israeli forces fired artillery shells against the villages of Jamlah and Abdin in that basin, in Daraa Governorate. Those villages, particularly Jamlah, have come under regular fire from Israeli forces in recent weeks.
Israeli ground troops regularly cross into Daraa and Quneitra Governorate to conduct military operations. Those operations tend to involve troops raiding villages, searching homes, and occasionally establishing temporary military checkpoints.
Multiple cross border operations are reported any given day, and while most of the operations don’t involve casualties, it’s increasingly common for Israel to detain locals, taking them back to Israeli occupied territories, where they’re held incommunicado without charges, sometimes for over a year.
