DARAA, Syria, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Residents of villages in Syria's southern Daraa province have voiced growing concern over repeated Israeli military incursions, which they said have disrupted farming, restricted access to agricultural land, and left communities living in constant fear of raids, arrests and displacement.
The latest major incursion into the Yarmouk Basin began at dawn on Sunday, when Israeli forces entered the villages of Maariya and al-Aarda in the western countryside of Daraa province, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
The forces, which included several military vehicles and a bulldozer, reportedly opened roads, set up a temporary checkpoint, and distributed leaflets warning residents not to obstruct Israeli military movement.
Israeli troops returned on Monday, searching homes and damaging an electrical transformer, which cut power to most homes in Maariya, SANA reported.
For local families, the incursions have turned routine agricultural work into a security risk. They said movement restrictions have prevented them from ploughing fields and carrying out seasonal work.
"They prevent residents from entering their land and stop them from cultivating it," Abu Atef, an al-Aarda resident in his 80s, told Xinhua. "Without the land, we cannot live at all."
Atef said Israeli forces frequently enter the village, sometimes firing shots at night, frightening children and prompting families to temporarily flee.
Ali al-Abidin, a resident of the Yarmouk Basin in his 60s, said his extended household of 23 people is prepared to flee at short notice, but insisted that permanent displacement is not an option.
The incursions are part of a broader pattern that has intensified since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 879 Israeli ground and aerial incursions in southern Syria between Dec. 8, 2024, and July 14, 2026, with activity now almost daily.
Israel has said its actions are intended to prevent armed threats near its border, while Syria has rejected the justification, describing the operations as violations of its sovereignty and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria.
Syrian foreign chief Asaad al-Shaibani recently called for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces, while Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa said the authorities are pursuing a security agreement with Israel through diplomatic channels.
During a recent visit to Damascus, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Israeli airstrikes and incursions as violations of Syria's sovereignty.
Etana, an independent Syrian research organization, has warned that expanding operations could fuel localized resistance and trigger confrontations that Damascus is seeking to avoid. ■
