The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has documented at least 10 ground incursions by Israeli occupation forces into areas in the governorates of Quneitra and Daraa between February 25 and March 5, 2025. Israeli occupation forces entered the region without any prior announcement, causing anxiety among local residents. This incursion is the latest in a series of repeated Israeli military operations aimed at imposing a new security reality through ground raids that threaten the local population.
The incursions involved Israeli military units, some of which were supported by heavy machinery, entering areas both within and outside the buffer zone without prior notice. In the course of these incursions, Israeli occupation forces destroyed and bulldozed military outposts for the Syrian army that had remained vacant since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, established temporary military checkpoints, and forcibly collected surveys from local residents regarding humanitarian aid and infrastructure in the areas where the Israeli occupation forces advanced.
Areas targeted by the incursions:
Ein al-Bayda, Quneitra: Israeli occupation forces targeted abandoned military positions.
Vicinity of al-Bakkar village, Daraa: The abandoned Majahid military barracks were targeted.
Vicinity of Mas-hara town, Quneitra: Israeli occupation forces advanced into Tell Mas-hara, an abandoned military site.
Al-Rafid town, Quneitra: Israeli occupation forces entered residential neighborhoods and forcibly collected surveys from residents.
Vicinity of al-Nasiriya village, administrative border between Daraa and Quneitra: Two abandoned military sites were targeted.
Ghadir al-Bustan, Quneitra: A military incursion was recorded from the town’s western side.
Vicinity of al-Mal town, Daraa: Israeli occupation forces targeted an abandoned military site.
Neighborhoods of Rwayhinah town, Quneitra.
Neighborhoods of Um Batna town, Quneitra.
Neighborhoods of Suwaysa town, Quneitra.
Preliminary information indicates that the Israeli incursion did not result in direct confrontations, but it caused fear among civilians amid concerns about escalating tensions in the area. The targeted region is currently under the control of the transitional government in Syria and is managed by a new civilian administration following the withdrawal of Iranian militias and the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.
This operation constitutes a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and a breach of international law, including Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity of any member state, as well as the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Syria and Israel. The ongoing Israeli incursions into border areas pose a direct threat to civilian security and increase the likelihood of forced displacement or the imposition of unlawful military arrangements in the region.
SNHR calls on the United Nations and the international community to take urgent action to halt these repeated violations, ensure respect for Syria’s sovereignty, and protect civilians from practices that could lead to forced demographic changes or the establishment of a new occupation-based reality.
