At least seven civilians, including a woman, were killed and ten others were injured in an initial toll from Israeli artillery shelling on Tuesday on the town of Koya in the Yarmouk Basin area of the western Daraa countryside in southern Syria.
Local sources told Zaman al-Wasl that Israeli occupation forces penetrated the town before targeting it with tank shells, resulting in seven deaths and several injuries. This followed a massive displacement of residents from the village to the plains and neighboring villages following an Israeli incursion attempt, which was repelled by the villagers.
The sources indicated that the area witnessed a massive displacement toward neighboring villages, while clashes continued in the town's valley, where successive explosions were heard.
These developments coincided with intensive Israeli reconnaissance flights over the area, the appearance of a helicopter in the northern part of the village, and the movement of heavy military vehicles on the Israeli side of the border.
The region is experiencing heightened tension amid fears of escalating clashes, as shelling and clashes continue around the town. Local networks, including the Daraa 24 News Network, documented "casualties during an attempt by an Israeli occupation army force to infiltrate the village of Koya in the Yarmouk Basin, across the valley, on Tuesday morning. This led to violent clashes with young men from the village, who confronted the force and forced it to retreat."
Following the clashes, the village was subjected to Israeli shelling, resulting in the deaths of several young men, including Ali al-Hunais, and the injury of others.
The source also recorded "more than five shells falling on the village, in addition to ongoing clashes and shelling on the village of Koya al-Tahta in the valley."
According to the source, residents appealed for "the need for doctors and nurses to head to the village to accommodate the large number of wounded by providing first aid before transporting them to hospitals in the surrounding areas. First aid is provided to the wounded in a pharmacy, given the lack of a clinic in the village. Serious injuries are then transferred to hospitals in Daraa and Tafas."
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army announced that it had exchanged fire with a number of militants south of the town. Syria this Tuesday morning.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that gunmen opened fire on an Israeli force in the village of Koya before the force responded by firing artillery shells at them.
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