DAMASCUS — Israeli forces launched a renewed wave of raids in southern Syria on Tuesday, advancing into the village of Mariya in the Yarmouk Basin area of Daraa province, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The incursion saw Israeli troops search several civilian homes before withdrawing without making arrests. Since Monday, Israeli forces have also been conducting earthmoving operations north of Wadi al-Raqad to reopen an old dirt road, using a bulldozer accompanied by a tank and a pickup truck.
The raids are part of a broader pattern of Israeli military aggression that has intensified since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, when Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement void and seized control of the Syrian buffer zone.
According to rights groups and local monitors, at least 46 Syrians remain detained or forcibly disappeared by Israeli forces since the regime change. Families of the detainees, including teachers, students and farmers from Quneitra, Daraa and Rif Damascus, have staged protests outside UN posts demanding information about their loved ones’ fate.
Former detainees describe being blindfolded, interrogated and transferred into Israel itself, held without charge and without access to lawyers or family contact. Human Rights Watch has documented abuses including arbitrary detention and the unlawful transfer of detainees out of occupied territory into Israel, a violation of international law.
The raids and detentions occur under the watch of Syria’s new administration, headed by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, a former Al-Qaeda and Daesh deputy who now rules Damascus. According to monitoring groups, Israel has conducted at least 41 ground incursions into southern Syria since February alone, with the HTS-led regime maintaining a “suspicious silence” in response.
Analysts and observers have noted that Jolani’s passivity has emboldened Israeli forces to escalate operations, carrying out a combination of air, ground and artillery strikes without meaningful reaction from Damascus. 
Reports have even documented Israeli troops disarming and stripping HTS militants in Daraa, with Syrian authorities remaining silent.
The UN has repeatedly called on Israel to adhere to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and respect Syria’s sovereignty, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stating violations are “unacceptable and must stop”. 
However, with the Damascus regime unwilling or unable to respond, Israeli forces continue to operate freely in southern Syria, arresting civilians and expanding their military footprint with impunity.