Israeli occupation forces carried out a large-scale military incursion early Sunday morning into the towns of Saysoun and Jamlah in Syria’s western Daraa countryside, intensifying fear and tension among local residents.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), around 18 Israeli armored vehicles and military trucks advanced deep into residential neighborhoods in Saysoun, carrying out house-to-house raids and searches. Troops reportedly stormed homes, interrogated residents in the streets, and searched private property without any legal justification.

Eyewitnesses reported that additional occupation forces deployed around Jamlah, near the disengagement line with the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, setting up temporary checkpoints and tightening movement in and out of the area.

The ground operation was conducted under the cover of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, which circled over the region for hours, adding to the anxiety of local communities.

Damascus has strongly condemned the incursion, calling it a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty, international law, and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which established a buffer zone and prohibited such military activity near the Golan Heights.

“This aggression is a dangerous escalation and part of the occupation’s ongoing policy to destabilize southern Syria,” a Syrian Foreign Ministry source said. “We hold the Israeli regime fully responsible for its consequences and call on the United Nations and the international community to act immediately to put an end to these repeated violations.”

Syrian authorities have repeatedly accused Israel of carrying out incursions, airstrikes, and sabotage operations in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and the Damascus countryside, often in coordination with armed groups operating in the south. These attacks, they say, are designed to prolong instability, weaken state authority, and prevent the return of displaced civilians.

Local residents expressed outrage at the occupation’s actions. “They broke into our streets at dawn, questioned our families, and treated everyone as a suspect,” said a resident of Saysoun who asked not to be named. “We live in constant fear — one day it’s airstrikes, the next it’s tanks rolling past our homes.”

Human rights organizations warn that such incursions risk sparking renewed clashes in the region, which has been gradually recovering from years of conflict.

Syria has urged the UN Security Council to take concrete steps to stop Israeli violations and hold Tel Aviv accountable for undermining regional stability. Thus far, international reactions have remained muted, a stance Damascus says encourages further aggression.

“Each time the occupation acts with impunity, it sends a message that international law does not apply to Israel,” the Foreign Ministry source added. “The world must put an end to this double standard.” (ILKHA)