The Syrian government has strongly condemned Israeli military incursions and artillery bombardment in the country's southern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra, describing the actions as a "blatant violation" of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The condemnation came after tensions escalated on Sunday in the village of Abidin, located in the Yarmuk Basin of Daraa Province near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. According to Syrian state media and local officials, Israeli forces advanced into the area, prompting residents to block their path by placing stones on the road.

Local authorities said Israeli forces later responded with artillery shelling, forcing residents to flee to nearby villages overnight. Residents returned to their homes on Monday morning after Israeli troops withdrew from the area.

In an official statement, Syria's Foreign Ministry denounced what it described as Israeli attacks involving military incursions into Daraa and Quneitra and artillery strikes on populated areas, accusing Israel of violating Syrian sovereignty and international law.

Mahmud Mowaffaq, a local official in Abidin, said residents attempted to prevent an Israeli patrol from entering the village for the first time. He added that heavy shelling near residential areas forced families to leave during the night before returning once the situation had calmed.

An AFP photographer at the scene reported seeing an unexploded artillery shell near a resident's home.

The latest confrontation comes amid continued Israeli military activity in southern Syria following the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Since then, Israel has deployed troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, describing the area as a security zone.

Israel has also conducted repeated airstrikes and ground incursions deeper into Syrian territory, while maintaining that it seeks to establish a demilitarised zone in southern Syria.

According to the local monitoring organization Sijil, Israeli forces have carried out approximately 300 military operations in Daraa and Quneitra during the current month, including around 70 ground incursions and 28 raids. The organization also reported that some operations involved the detention of local residents.

The Israeli military stated that its forces had "eliminated several armed terrorists" operating within what it described as the security zone in southern Syria.

Earlier this month, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would remain deployed in southern Syria for an "unlimited period."