Israel launches military incursion into Syria amid UN condemnation

The UN’s Guterres condemned violations of Syria’s sovereignty as he visited and called for sanctions to be lifted.The head of the United Nations has condemned the persistent violation of Syria’s sovereignty, as Israel’s forces reportedly carried out new incursions into its neighbour’s territory.Israeli soldiers advanced towards villages in southwestern Syria on Sunday, setting up a checkpoint at Al-Ardah, while shelling was also heard nearby, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported. Leaflets were dropped warning residents against attempting to obstruct the advance of Israeli vehicles.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What next for India’s ‘Cockroach’ movement after education minister sackedlist 2 of 3Yemen’s health workers race to halt latest outbreak of deadly dengue feverlist 3 of 3Israeli air strike on a vehicle in Gaza kills two Hamas security officialsend of listThe incursion came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on a visit to Syria, condemned Israel’s violations.“Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity & territorial integrity must be fully respected,” he wrote in a social media post. “Violations by Israel of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement are unacceptable & must stop.”Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, he said that the UN is set to submit a comprehensive report to the UN Security Council on the issue at the end of the month.‘Security zone’Israel has conducted increasingly regular incursions into Syrian territory since the fall of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.In the immediate aftermath, it seized control of the UN-controlled buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria, saying the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria had collapsed.Since then, Israel has carried out regular attacks, raids and searches, and established military checkpoints further within Syria.