Israeli troops and military vehicles entered the southern Syrian town of Abdin recently, prompting residents to block roads with rocks and throw stones at the patrol in an attempt to drive it away.
The incident underscores growing tensions in southern Syria, where Israel has established a military-controlled buffer zone. Residents said Israeli soldiers fired warning shots before shelling the village with artillery after protesters confronted them. No injuries were reported, but the exchange forced most residents to flee, with many too fearful to return by Monday.
"They come into the village every few days," resident Mohammad al-Hassan said. "They patrol in armoured vehicles, search homes, break down doors if no one answers, and terrify women and children."
Israel seized the UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria in December 2024 after former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted. While officials initially described the move as temporary, senior Israeli leaders have since indicated they intend to remain indefinitely.
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Israel says the buffer zone is necessary to prevent attacks by militant groups, reflecting a broader security strategy adopted after the October 2023 Hamas attack. Although Syria has seen almost no cross-border attacks since Assad's fall, Israeli incursions into southwestern Syrian villages have repeatedly sparked clashes with local residents.
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has called on Israel to withdraw from the 235-square-kilometre UN-designated buffer zone, while the Syrian government condemned the latest incursion and shelling.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it had killed armed men in southern Syria. An Israeli military official later said two militants planning to attack Israeli troops were killed, without revealing the location. Imad Hassoun, mayor of the village of Hadar, said two unidentified men travelling in a pickup truck south of the village were killed in an explosion, after which Israeli troops removed their bodies.
Regarding Abdin, the Israeli official said militants had opened fire on an Israeli military position, but no soldiers were injured. Residents had hoped US-mediated talks between Israel and Syria in France would ease tensions, but those discussions appear to have stalled.
Many families are leaving because of insecurity, unemployment and shortages of water and electricity. Farmer Sobhi al-Tawlbi said residents need greater government support to remain in their villages and urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt its military operations. "We are living here peacefully in this border area," al-Hassan said. "Why are they bothering us?"
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