DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- Israeli occupation forces have expanded their incursions into southern Syria, advancing with two tanks and three military vehicles toward Tal al-Dariyat in the southern countryside of Quneitra. 
An Israeli patrol also moved into the Tal al-Karoum area in the province’s central countryside Friday, according to local Syrian sources cited by al-Mayadeen.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces raided the town of Jabata al-Khashab in Quneitra province with more than 100 personnel and 15 vehicles, abducting two residents and searching multiple homes. 
The overnight raid caused panic and intense fear among residents, particularly because of the size of the military force involved and the entry of military vehicles into residential neighborhoods.
Following the collapse of the Syrian government, Israel exploited the resulting security vacuum to expand its military presence inside Syrian territory.
Israeli forces have since maintained an almost daily presence in parts of Quneitra and Daraa, establishing temporary checkpoints, searching civilians and vehicles, raiding homes, and detaining and interrogating Syrians. 
Satellite imagery and investigations have documented more than 800 Israeli incursions beyond the buffer zone since December 2024, with about 235 square kilometers of southern Syrian territory currently under direct Israeli military control.
On Tuesday, Israeli aircraft carried out eight strikes against the runway of Abu al-Duhur military airbase in the eastern countryside of Idlib, causing material damage to the facility. 
The attack came just a day after a Turkish military delegation visited the airbase to inspect rehabilitation work underway, leaving hours before the unprovoked Israeli attack.
However, the response from Syria’s de facto president Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, whose extremist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham toppled Assad in December 2024, has been remarkably muted. 
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani merely expressed “concern” and said the attack “had no justification,” while also signaling Damascus’s continued openness to negotiations with Israel. 
Israeli leaders have increasingly signaled that their military occupation in Syria is not temporary and could expand further. 
Israeli war minister Israel Katz has said Israel plans to keep troops in Syria, with Israeli troops carrying out regular raids and erecting military infrastructure in water-rich southern Syria, while facing no resistance from Syria’s new authorities.
Analysts and regional observers have linked Israel’s actions in Syria to broader colonial ambitions, noting that Israeli officials have openly declared forces will remain in southern Syria “forever.”