LONDON: Israeli forces detained one resident and briefly held another during an overnight raid on a village in southern Syria, according to Syrian state media.

Twelve Israeli military vehicles entered Maariya, a village in the Yarmouk Basin of western Daraa province, through the northern entrance known locally as Valley Road, a local source told Syria’s state-run SANA news agency.

The vehicles then moved through several residential neighborhoods, searched a number of homes and detained two residents, the source said.

One of the detainees was later released, while the whereabouts of the other were not immediately known.

The raid was the latest in what Damascus describes as continuing Israeli violations of Syrian territory.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa raised the issue in a recent address to the 81st UN General Assembly, saying Israel had carried out about 500 airstrikes and artillery attacks, more than 1,200 incursions and roughly 300 arrests and detentions since late 2024.

Al-Sharaa reiterated Syria’s rejection of Israeli “attempts to impose a fait accompli” and “aggressions, which undermine peace and security.”

He also said Damascus remains committed to the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and called on Israeli forces to withdraw to positions held before Dec. 8, 2024.

In late 2024, Israel exploited a security vacuum created by the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in a rebel offensive that swept the country.

Israeli forces quickly moved into a UN-monitored demilitarized area inside Syria and took positions on Mount Hermon, a strategically important high-elevation area overlooking parts of Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel.