On the evening of Friday, May 30, 2025, at approximately 10:08pm local time, fixed-wing aircraft of the Israeli Occupation forces carried out several successive airstrikes targeting military sites in the countryside of Latakia and Tartous governorates. The attacks resulted in the death of one civilian and the injury of three others in the Latakia countryside and caused extensive material damage to military infrastructure. The targeted areas are under the control of the transitional government.
According to what the Syrian Network for Human Rights documented through reliable local sources, the young man, Ahmed Nabil Abu Nizam, from the village of Al-Buwaytat Al-Qatilibiyah in the Latakia countryside, was killed after being hit by shrapnel in the head while riding his motorcycle near the 107th Brigade’s position in the vicinity of the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside when an airstrike was carried out with several missiles targeting the position and its surroundings. Three other civilians were also injured in a nearby location within the brigade’s vicinity.
SNHR also recorded successive Israeli airstrikes targeting other military sites, including one near the village of Balata al-Gharbiya and another at the al-Wahib factories in the northern Tartous countryside, without any human casualties being recorded at those sites.
Legal Conclusions
- The Israeli airstrikes inside Syrian territory constitute a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any Member State. The principle of self-defense (Article 51) does not apply in this case, given the absence of an imminent threat or armed Syrian attack against Israel to justify these strikes.
- Targeting military sites inside Syria, in the absence of an armed conflict between the two parties, and without a Security Council resolution or legal authorization, constitutes an unlawful act of aggression. Even if the targeted sites are of a military nature, launching airstrikes against them outside a clear legal framework violates the fundamental principles of international law and constitutes a clear violation of the prohibition on the use of force in international relations.
- The failure of Israeli forces to issue any advance warning to the civilian population prior to an attack violates the legal obligation to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties, under Article 57 of the same protocol.
- The continued Israeli airstrikes, in the absence of clear strategic or legal justification, and after the withdrawal of Iranian militias and the fall of the Assad regime, indicate a systematic policy of terrorizing the population and imposing a security reality by force, threatening international peace and security.
- These airstrikes constitute a violation of the disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel, which stipulates a cessation of direct military operations and the avoidance of escalation.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights strongly condemns this airstrike, which resulted in the death of one civilian and the injury of others. This attack violates the rules of international humanitarian law, which oblige all parties to the conflict to take feasible precautions to protect civilians. In this context, the Syrian Network for Human Rights recommends the following:
- To the UN Security Council: Call for an emergency session to condemn this attack as a violation of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law and demand an end to all unlawful Israeli attacks on Syrian territory.
- To the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria and the International Independent Mechanism (IIIM): Document this incident in the register of violations related to the use of force outside the framework of international law.
- To the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF): Although the targeted areas are outside the Force’s deployment area, it must report on the broader impact of the escalation of Israeli airstrikes on regional security.
- To the international community and humanitarian organizations: Provide urgent support to the families of the victims and the wounded and ensure medical and psychological care for the injured and all those affected by the attack.
- To organizations documenting violations and transitional justice: Include this incident in annual reports on human rights violations in Syria and attach testimonies and documents to support international accountability efforts at the Human Rights Council and relevant mechanisms.
