A third Israeli incursion into Quneitra despite Trump’s warning of escalation in Syria news

On Monday evening, the Israeli occupation forces carried out a third incursion within hours into the Quneitra countryside, southwestern Syria, shortly after US President Donald Trump renewed his warning to the Israeli government against obstructing the path of political transition in Syria.

The official Syrian news agency (SANA) said that an Israeli force, including four military vehicles and two tanks, penetrated the Hamriyah hill, located between the town of Hadar and the village of Taranja in the northern countryside of Quneitra.

Yesterday, Monday, the US President called on the Israeli government to refrain from taking any measures that might hinder the path of political transition in Syria.

Trump said in a post on the “Truth Social” platform that his administration is “very satisfied” with the performance of the new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

The US President added, “It is very important that Israel maintains a strong and genuine dialogue with Syria, and that nothing happens that would interfere with Syria’s development into a prosperous country.”

In this context, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a phone call with the US President on Monday evening, which the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said came within the framework of American efforts to reduce the escalation following a series of Israeli incursions into southern Syria.

According to the Commission, Washington is working to calm tensions between the two sides after an incident last weekend, in which 6 Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire in Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, following an Israeli patrol’s incursion into the town at dawn on Friday.

Israel later responded with an air strike on the town’s residents, killing 13 people, including women and children, and wounding about 25 others.

Continuing Israeli escalation

During the previous two incursions into the Quneitra countryside, on Monday, civilian homes were opened by fire in the village of Abu Qubais, according to local sources.

In recent weeks, Quneitra has witnessed an escalation by the Israeli occupation army, as residents complain of Israeli incursions into their agricultural lands, which are their only source of livelihood.

During their military operations, Israeli forces destroyed hundreds of dunums (a dunum equals a thousand square metres) of forests, arrested civilians, and set up military checkpoints to search passers-by.

In recent months, meetings were held between Israeli and Syrian officials with the aim of reaching security arrangements leading to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the buffer zone it controlled in December 2024.

However, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated at the end of November that Israel “is not on the path to peace with Syria.”

Israel continues to carry out ground incursions and air strikes into Syrian territory, targeting civilian and military sites, causing deaths and destroying Syrian army equipment.

Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights since the June 1967 war, and expanded its control after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024.