Israeli forces continued to carry out their usual cross-border raids into southwest Syria today, and while operations were reported in both Daraa and Quneitra Governorates, the most immediate focus seems to be on the northern part of Quneitra, with raids targeting local villages there unusually often.
The village of Taranja in northern Quneitra got some good news today when the Israeli military brought a detained local home and reunited him with his family. The man had been detained without explanation for over 16 months. The IDF did not comment on his release.
Israel wasted no time in getting the number of detainees back up, however, as in the course of raiding the nearby village of al-Hurriyah, troops captured a young man and took him back with them to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Israeli troops in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate | Image from SOHR
Here again, the IDF did not comment, leaving the reality that Syrian civilians are routinely scooped up by invading troops without explanation, held without explanation, and at least sometimes, released without explanation. The entire process is totally opaque.
Israeli troops also raided the villages of Saida al-Hanout and Zubaida. Zubaida is particular caused some measure of panic, because the raid was roughly the same time children were headed to school in the morning, and there was fear some would be swept up. Ultimately, however, no detentions were reported in that case.
Troops also entered Khan Arnabah, where they conducted searches of a number of locals before withdrawing. Here too, no detentions were reported, and here too, the IDF did not explain the reason for the incursion.
