Israel Shells Syrian Golan Heights Area Multiple Times in Hours

The Israeli army conducted artillery shelling in the Quneitra countryside in southern Syria on Sunday, marking the second such attack within hours. The shelling targeted an area southeast of the town of Al-Rafid, which Syrian state media described as a new violation. State-run "Al-Ikhbariya Syria" reported the shelling without providing details on its results. Earlier, the Israeli military fired three artillery shells at the Harash area of Beer Ajam village in the Quneitra countryside, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

These strikes follow similar Israeli artillery barrages two days prior, which hit the outskirts of Al-Hamidiyah town in Quneitra and the Bat al-Warda hill near the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, SANA reported. Israel expanded its occupation of Syrian territory and took control of the buffer zone after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The 1974 agreement established a buffer zone under Syrian sovereignty to separate Syrian and Israeli forces, with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitoring its implementation. Recent Israeli incursions into Quneitra have increased, with Syrians complaining of Israeli forces entering their agricultural lands, destroying hundreds of acres of forests, detaining individuals, and setting up checkpoints. Despite the Syrian government posing no threat to Israel, the Israeli military has repeatedly entered Syrian territory, conducting airstrikes that have killed civilians and destroyed military sites, equipment, and munitions.