Invasions, fires, and arrests. Israeli escalation in southern Syria
The Israeli occupation forces arrested, after midnight on Monday, a young man from the village of Ein Ziwan in the southern countryside of Quneitra, during a military incursion operation in which about 10 military vehicles participated, which included raiding a number of houses before the withdrawal of the force from the area, according to local sources to "Al-Syria" News.
The sources pointed to the incursion of Israeli vehicles into the area of Talat al-Diriyat, west of the village of Al-Muallaqa in the southern countryside of Quneitra, a former Syrian military point located near the 1974 disengagement line, as part of repeated military movements in the area during the recent period.
The sources confirmed that the occupation forces continue to bulldoze in the vicinity of Tal Okasha near the village of Brega in the southern countryside of Quneitra, as part of the fortification project known as "Suva 53", which extends along the separation line with the occupied Syrian Golan.
On Sunday, May 31, an Israeli patrol consisting of two military vehicles penetrated the road connecting the village of Saida al-Golan and Mazraat al-Basali, set up a temporary checkpoint during which it conducted searches of passers-by, and then withdrew from the area.
Fire as a result of Israeli artillery shelling in Daraa countryside
A fire broke out on Monday, June 1, in the villages of Al-Masritiyah and Saissoun in the Yarmouk Basin area of the western countryside of Daraa, following Israeli artillery shelling, followed by gunfire, according to local sources.
The sources stated that the Syrian Civil Defense forces extinguished and controlled the fire and prevented it from spreading to nearby fields and lands, noting that the damaged area is at least 3 dunams of agricultural land.
A young man was wounded by the bullets of an Israeli occupation army patrol that penetrated into the Wadi Al-Raqqad area in the west of Daraa governorate, on Sunday afternoon, May 31, 2026, where local sources told "Syrian News" that the occupation patrol shot the young man, who is a resident of the village of Al-Basali in the southern countryside of Quneitra and works in sheep herding in Wadi Al-Raqqad, which led to him being shot in the thigh and right arm.
The sources said that UNIFIL forces provided the necessary first aid to the injured youth before transferring him to Nawa Hospital in Daraa governorate to complete treatment and receive medical care.
150 occupation soldiers infiltrate Maariyya in Daraa countryside
On the morning of Sunday, May 31, local sources reported that an Israeli force entered a naked village in the area of the Yarmouk Basin, west of Daraa, and set up a checkpoint at the eastern entrance to the village, where they stopped and searched passers-by, vehicles and public transportation, before leaving the site.
The mayor of Maaria and Abdeen, Muwaffaq Mahmoud, told the state-run SANA news agency that four Israeli military vehicles carrying about 150 soldiers arrived on Sunday morning in the vicinity of the village of Maariyah and set up a checkpoint near the telephone exchange at the eastern entrance to the village, noting that they searched the passing cars and vehicles without receiving information about arrests or detention of people.
UNDOF: Strengthening UN patrols and identifying safe corridors
A delegation from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and the Quneitra Farmers' Union discussed ways to secure access to Syrian farmers to their lands near the separation line in the occupied Golan, in light of the high level of tension on the ground and the increasing risks to the harvest season.
The meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Union, focused on the development of clear field arrangements that allow farmers to harvest their crops without facing any threat, especially in the areas adjacent to the border strip, and the two sides discussed the possibility of strengthening UN patrols, identifying safe passages, and intensifying observation points during periods of agricultural work.
The meeting reviewed the escalating security challenges, foremost of which are the repeated Israeli incursions, and the use of light and smoke bombs and heavy machine guns in the vicinity of agricultural land, practices that have caused limited fires and forced many farmers to suspend their work for fear of being put at risk.
The meeting came at the request of the Farmers' Union, in light of the increasing complaints of residents about the difficulty of accessing the fields, with the aim of strengthening direct coordination between ENDOF and local authorities to guarantee the rights of civilians and support the continuation of agricultural activity, which is a key pillar of the region's economy.
More than 200 Israeli violations during last May
The "Sijil" Center for Monitoring the Violations of the Israeli Occupation in Syria recorded a relative decrease in the number of violations by the Israeli occupation forces during the month of May, with the continuation of military movements and incursions into the southern areas of the country.
In its monthly report, the center said it documented 205 violations during the past month, compared to 254 violations in April and 321 violations in March, which witnessed the highest toll since the beginning of the year.
According to the report, most of the violations were concentrated in Quneitra governorate with 163 violations, followed by Daraa with 41 violations, while one case was recorded in Damascus, represented by air activity.
Israeli occupation detains 16 civilians in May
The report indicated that ground incursions constituted the largest percentage of violations with 64 operations, which included the movements of Israeli patrols, vehicles and armored vehicles in various areas of the countryside of Quneitra and Daraa, in addition to the deployment inside villages, agricultural lands and abandoned military sites.
The center monitored 52 cases of warplanes and reconnaissance planes, and 25 temporary checkpoints that witnessed the scrutiny and interrogation of civilians.
The center documented 19 raids on civilian homes and facilities and 16 cases of detention of civilians, most of whom were later released, and at the military level, May witnessed the highest rate of artillery shelling since the beginning of the year, with 14 incidents targeting different areas in southern Syria without registering casualties.
The center pointed out that no killings have been documented during the past month, while the total number of civilian deaths since December 8, 2024 has reached about 36 people, compared to 214 cases of detention, 46 of whom are still in detention, in addition to 5 others detained since before December 8, 2024.