Israeli ground troops continued their operations across southwest Syria today, setting up a checkpoint in Quneitra Governorate, raiding areas and searching locals. Israeli warplanes were also reported overhead in neighboring Rif Damasq and Daraa Governorates.
Among the military operations in central Quneitra was also a heavy artillery shelling in the area around al-Mantara Dam, the largest dam in the governorate and an important source of fresh water for the region’s agricultural industries.
IDF raids in the town of Jbata al-Khashab were also reported today, with at least one local reported detained by the troops. As is often the case, the IDF has issued no statement about why they detained the young man, or where he is being held.
Israeli artillery fires on fields in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate | Image from SOHR
Such detentions are unfortunately not unusual. The troops regularly capture young men, often release them in a matter of hours or days, but sometimes they hold them far longer, with an occasional detainee turning up as much as a year after their disappearance. At any given time, reports suggest Israel is holding in excess of 45 Syrians without charges.
Yesterday, Israeli troops also confronted a group of civilians harvesting olives in the area around al-Rufayd. The troops reportedly searched a number of the workers before expelling them from the area and ordering them not to return.
Agriculture is a major part of the economy in Quneitra, and Israel’s operations are focused both on controlling water supplies and on severely restricting civilian movement in the region, both of which are anathema to such an industry, as farm work generally takes place outside of the towns and villages.
