Israeli Forces Shell Syrian Territory, Advance Near Golan Heights
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Israeli forces bombarded the outskirts of Syria’s Quneitra province on Sunday, with artillery shells reportedly landing near the village of Taranja. Syrian state media outlet Al-Akhbariya Syria reported that Israeli artillery targeted agricultural land adjacent to Taranja in the northern Quneitra countryside.
In a separate development prior to dawn, Israeli forces advanced towards the villages of Ma’ariya and Al-Ardeh in the Yarmouk Basin area, located in western Daraa. This incursion involved three military vehicles and a bulldozer which reportedly cleared a road and established a checkpoint within Al-Ardeh village.
No casualties or material damages have been reported thus far, and the Israeli army has not commented on the reported shelling or ground attack. The incidents occur as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to visit the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the occupied Golan Heights, as part of efforts to monitor adherence to the Syria-Israel ceasefire agreement.
Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for a three-day visit. Addressing reporters alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Faysal Mikdad in Damascus on Saturday, Guterres stated, “Violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must stop. What is happening in the area around the Golan Heights is completely unacceptable.” He emphasized the UN’s commitment to Syria’s territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty, calling for an end to all Israeli transgressions and asserting that “what belongs to Syrians is Syrian and cannot be taken from them.”
Southern Syria has witnessed repeated Israeli incursions and attacks for months, including raids, searches, arrests, and the establishment of military checkpoints. These activities intensified following December 2024, when Israel announced the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and took control of the Syrian buffer zone.
