Syria said on Thursday that a man with a disability was killed by Israeli fire during an incursion into the south of the country, where Israel has recently increased its operations. The killing took place in the village of Jamla in Daraa province, according to the country’s state news agency.
The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria and has made frequent incursions into its territory since Islamist authorities took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Israeli forces raid Jamla and Syria condemns the killing
The state news agency reported that Israeli troops entered a neighbourhood and posted snipers on rooftops after bombing the area late on Wednesday.
Syria’s foreign ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation forces’ crime” and said that targeting civilians is a grave breach of international law. It described the continued incursions and attacks as a violation of Syrian sovereignty and a threat to regional stability, and called on the international community to force Israel to respect international law.
Claudio Cordone, the UN deputy special envoy for Syria, wrote on X that he deplored the killing of a young Syrian civilian with a disability. He added that Israel must fully respect Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.
Buffer zone and security zone in southern Syria
After Assad was ousted, Israel sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, which Israel mostly occupies, since 1974.
Israel has also made repeated incursions deeper into Syrian territory, at times seizing residents. It has said it will keep troops in a so-called “security zone” in southern Syria, where it wants to create a wide demilitarised area.
Syria and Israel have held negotiations aimed at a security agreement, but Israel remains distrustful of Syria’s Islamist authorities.
Olive groves destroyed near Saida in Quneitra
In recent days, Israeli forces have also uprooted olive groves in Quneitra province, the state news agency reported. Trees were destroyed across an area of about 1.3 hectares near the village of Saida, which sits opposite the buffer zone where the Israeli army has been building fortifications.
Mohammad Ali al-Shaghla, 58, who owns the field, told a news agency: “Tanks entered my land without any warning.” He said that “they cut down and destroyed some 400 trees during their incursion.”
Syria had condemned the intensification of Israeli incursions in Quneitra and Daraa provinces the previous week.
