DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a group of residents in a village in southern Syria on Tuesday, wounding at least two children, according to Syria’s news agency SANA. 
The incident marks the latest in a series of escalating Israeli military aggressions across Syrian territory since the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024.
The attack comes as Israel continues to expand its military footprint inside Syria, having seized the UN-monitored buffer zone in the Golan Heights and conducted hundreds of airstrikes targeting military infrastructure across the country. 
Israeli forces have advanced beyond the demilitarized zone in some areas, with regional observers warning that the incursions threaten Syria’s territorial integrity and political cohesion. 
Despite the repeated Israeli strikes and ground incursions, the current Syrian regime led by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani has taken no meaningful action to confront the occupation.
Jolani, whose Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group has roots in Al-Qaeda and Daesh, has publicly stated that Syria is “too exhausted” for conflict with Israel and has no intention of entering a new war. 
Instead of resisting Israeli expansion, the Damascus administration has focused its security efforts on cracking down on Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance movement that remains the most potent front-line force against Israeli aggression in the region. 
Syrian authorities announced on Tuesday the seizure of 226 RGC-type grenades concealed in a vehicle at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, claiming the weapons were destined for Hezbollah. 
Hezbollah has categorically denied the allegations, calling them “completely false” and accusing Damascus of fabricating claims to serve the “Israeli-American project” in the region. 
The group’s media relations office reiterated that Hezbollah has “no activities inside Syrian territory” and described the repeated accusations as “baseless”.
Observers note that the smuggling allegations against Hezbollah appear to serve a dual purpose: distracting from the regime’s inaction on Israeli occupation while providing justification for a broader crackdown on Shia Muslims, Alawites, and former Assad loyalists. 
The Damascus regime’s claims regarding Hezbollah’s involvement in smuggling have been echoed by Israel, which has repeatedly struck border crossings under the pretext of preventing arms transfers to Hezbollah’s Unit 4400. 
Israeli strikes have targeted infrastructure at the Janta crossing and other routes along the Syria-Lebanon border.
Analysts warn that the strategy of using arms-smuggling allegations as a pretext for political and sectarian repression risks further destabilizing the country while allowing Israel to continue its occupation and territorial expansion unchallenged.