The IDF conducted a ground incursion into the village of Abdeen west of Daraa in southern Syria overnight Monday, the third consecutive night of Israeli operations in the area. The military used AH-64 helicopters, artillery, and at least two airstrikes. Syrian gunmen in the village engaged the advancing force; two were killed and their bodies seized, according to reports.
The IDF's overnight ground incursion into the village of Abdeen, west of Daraa in southern Syria, resulted in the deaths of two armed residents, whose bodies were seized — the third consecutive night of Israeli military activity in the area, as The Zioneer reported earlier Monday. The operation, described by Syrian sources as including AH-64 helicopter sorties, artillery fire, and at least two airstrikes, marks an escalation from prior nights when activities were limited to artillery, helicopter fire, and ground probes without reported fatalities.
This follows a pattern of escalating friction documented by The Zioneer over the past three nights. On Sunday night, Syrian sources reported that residents of Abdeen blocked village entrances with stones to prevent IDF entry, and IDF soldiers opened fire. On Monday morning, video footage captured Israeli soldiers firing toward a Syrian news crew reporting on the IDF's entry into Abdeen; children were nearby but no casualties were reported. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has issued formal statements on each of the three consecutive nights, most recently calling for UN enforcement of the 1974 separation-of-forces agreement.
As The Zioneer reported separately, overnight strikes also hit southern Lebanon, including the Nabatieh area, in parallel operations. The southern Syria front, however, has seen a notable increase in direct ground-level clashes with armed residents — not uniformed military personnel — over this three-night sequence.
What remains open: the precise identity and affiliation of the two gunmen killed (reported as armed residents, not Syrian soldiers), and whether the IDF sustained any casualties during the engagement. No independent confirmation of the extent of IDF control over the area is yet available.
4 developments
- StrongSyrian sources: IDF carries out house raids in rural Daraa, southern Syria
- DevelopingIDF opens fire near Syrian news crew reporting on Abdin incursion
- DevelopingIsraeli overnight strikes hit southern Lebanon and southern Syria
- StrongIDF Strikes in Southern Lebanon Target al-Abbasiya and Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain
Source and signal
- Internal intake