Reports from international news agencies or official announcements from the IDF

IDF Issues Urgent Warning to Five Syrian Border Towns Amid Shelling of Quneitra

Dec 8, 2024, 03:17 PM

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued an urgent warning to residents of five towns in southern Syria near the Israeli border, advising them to stay indoors due to ongoing military operations. The affected towns are Ofaniya, Quneitra, Al-Hamidiyah, Al-Samdaniya Al-Gharbiyya, and Al-Qahtaniya. The IDF, including spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee, communicated the warnings in Arabic, stating, 'The fighting inside your area forces the IDF to act, and we do not intend to harm you.' Reports indicate that the Israeli military is shelling the Syrian city of Quneitra and has pushed into the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. Checkpoints have been established along the Golan Heights, and all rural areas adjacent to the border with Syria have been declared closed zones.