File Photo: Israeli forces raid village in Syria’s Daraa. AFP
Residents said Israeli occupation troops fired warning shots at walls and between the angry protesters, before firing artillery rounds at the village.
No one was harmed in the exchange, but most residents fled, and most were still too afraid to return on Monday.
Many fear that there will now be more intense incursions and raids following the skirmish.
“They come into the village regularly, every few days,” said resident Mohammad al-Hassan, standing not far from a group of children looking at an exploded shell.
“They come in armoured 4x4 vehicles, they roam around the village and search some houses, they knock on doors, and if people don’t answer the door, they break it down and enter the houses. Women and children start screaming; it’s a terrifying thing, them coming here.”
Israel seized control of a UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and seized more land outside the occupied Golan Heights in December 2024, following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive.
Israeli officials initially claimed the move as "temporary to protect their borders from militant groups," but more recently, top Israeli officials have said they plan to occupy the buffer zone in Syria indefinitely.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has called on Israel to withdraw from the area that the UN says is 235 square kilometres (91 square miles).
The Syrian government also condemned the Israeli incursion and shelling in Abdin.
On Sunday, the Israeli occupation army military announced that it had killed armed men in southern Syria without giving details.
The mayor of the Syrian village of Hadar said two unknown people driving a pickup truck just south of the village were killed in an attack, and that their bodies were taken by the Israeli military.
“There was the sound of an explosion when it happened,” Imad Hassoun told The Associated Press. “They weren't from Hadar. If they were, we would immediately know.”
People in Abdin were initially hopeful that US-mediated talks between Israel and Syria in France aimed at reaching a security agreement would diffuse tensions, but the talks appear to have stalled.
Fearing the unstable security situation and struggling to cope with a lack of jobs and services, many residents who have lived in these towns are leaving for elsewhere. The closest government security checkpoint to Abdin is some 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, and those who choose to stay are struggling with water and electricity shortages.
Sobhi al-Tawlbi, 66, says farmers have struggled to access their yield and sources of water.
“We need the government to support us a little so we can remain steadfast in our villages,” he said, asking for the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop its military incursions.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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