Israeli troops face resistance from residents as they push into a town
in Syria
[June 30, 2026]
By OMAR SANADIKI and GHAITH ALSAYED
ABDIN, Syria (AP) — As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of
Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and
some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol.
Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied
by Israeli forces have flared into violence in recent days, leaving
residents anxious that more escalation is coming. Residents of Abdin,
located near a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone now controlled by Israeli
troops, tried to resist against a military incursion Sunday.
Residents said Israeli troops fired warnings 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 armored 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 says it needs buffer zones to prevent attacks
Israel seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria
in December 2024, following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar
Assad in an insurgent offensive. Israeli officials initially described
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.
The Israeli military presence in southern Syria is part of a shift to a
more aggressive strategy by Israel after the deadly October 2023
Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. The Israeli military took over
large portions of Gaza as part of a broad invasion, and later seized
control of chunks of Lebanon — where the Hezbollah militant group has
fired missiles and drones across the border — and Syria. Israel calls
these areas “buffer zones” and says they are needed to prevent future
attacks by militant groups.
There have been no cross-border attacks from Syria into Israel since
Assad’s ouster, except for two rockets from a little-known militant
group. But Israel's military incursions into southwestern Syrian towns
have sometimes sparked resistance by residents that has spiraled into
deadly clashes.
Syrian officials condemn Israeli incursions
Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has called on Israel to
withdraw from the area that the U.N. says is 235 square kilometers (91
square miles). The Syrian government also condemned the Israeli
incursion and shelling in Abdin.
The clashes in Abdin were the second outbreak of violence in less than
24 hours. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military announced that it had
killed armed men in southern Syria without giving details.
[to top of second column]
|
Two boys walk along a road near a damaged building in the village of
Abdin, Daraa province, Syria, Monday, June 29, 2026, after local
residents said Israeli forces carried out an incursion into the area
a day earlier. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
An Israeli military official said Monday that Israeli soldiers had
killed two militants who were planning on attacking Israeli troops.
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity under military
briefing rules did not specify where in Syria the incident took
place.
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.”
Regarding the incident in Abdin, the Israeli official said armed
militants opened fired against one of the Israeli military’s
strongholds but nobody was harmed in the attack, without giving
further details.
Residents fear increasing instability
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 elsewhere. The closest government security
checkpoint to Abdin is some 10 kilometers (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.
Syrians living in that broader border area have maintained that they
are not a threat to anyone and want a stable life, following over 13
years of civil war that decimated Syria.
“Why are they bothering us? We are living here peacefully in this
border area,” said al-Hassan.
___
Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Kareem Chehayeb
in Beirut, and Omar Albam in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this
report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
