IDF conducts night raids in Syrian villages near border

A new and threatening reality has taken hold in recent weeks in the villages of Quneitra and the western countryside of Daraa in Syria. Local residents describe an unprecedented wave of IDF raids that have taken on a violent and systematic character compared to past activity in the area.

According to reports from local news sites and resident testimonies, military activity in the region has intensified significantly. Israeli forces are raiding homes and farms in the dead of night, conducting thorough searches of rooms, firing shots into the air, deploying attack dogs, and in some cases damaging household contents and confiscating mobile phones and personal weapons.

Overnight operational activity (Photo: IDF)

Among the villages where repeated raids have been documented over the past month: Taranja, al-Rafid, Abdin, Saida al-Khanout, Ain al-Abd, Bariqa, al-Asba, al-Hamidiya and Qudna. Residents describe a new routine reality in which they wake to the sound of gunfire and the sight of military forces inside their homes.

The main justification behind the raids, according to area residents, is the search for weapons held by civilians in the sensitive zone adjacent to the ceasefire line. However, residents express deep frustration not only with the results but with the very manner in which the nighttime operations are carried out. They raise complaints about intelligence reports or informants from local sources that are inaccurate.

Quneitra crossing from the Israeli side of the border (Photo: Yoav Zitun, ynet)

From the Israeli perspective, the activity is a systematic operation against terror cells and attempts to establish a presence in the border area. Reports indicate arrests of shepherds, searches for weapons, and the establishment of temporary checkpoints. The activity is taking place against the backdrop of regime change in Syria and concern over the infiltration of hostile elements into the border zone.

Security forces continue to operate at full alert along the Syrian border, conducting intelligence and operational actions to prevent the establishment of security threats.