Human Rights Watch said that Israeli forces, which have advanced into southern Syria since December 2024, have committed widespread abuses against residents, including forced displacement, house demolitions, land confiscations, and arbitrary arrests—acts that amount to war crimes.
According to the report published on Wednesday, September 17, the organization conducted interviews between last June and this September with eight locals: five residents of al-Hamidiyah (in Quneitra province) whose homes were demolished, an activist and a lawyer who were briefly detained, a community notable, and a resident of Jubata al-Khashab (Quneitra countryside) who was prevented from accessing his farmland.
The organization also analyzed photos and videos provided by witnesses, along with satellite imagery, to verify the location of military construction sites and map the extent of the destruction.
The rights group called on governments to suspend any military support to Israel that could facilitate these violations, impose sanctions on those responsible, and press for accountability before international courts.
Testimonies of Displacement
Since the collapse of Syria’s former government in December 2024, Israel has expanded its military presence inside the UN-monitored demilitarized zone between the occupied Golan Heights and parts of Quneitra province.
Israeli forces have established nine military outposts stretching from Mount Hermon down to western Daraa countryside and intensified airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure, according to the report.
A resident of al-Hamidiyah told the organization his house and surrounding orchards were bulldozed: “Nothing is left. We live in extremely difficult conditions since losing our home and land.”
In Jubata al-Khashab, farmers were barred from reaching their lands after Israel built a new outpost earlier this year, razing wide swaths of forests and farmland. Satellite analysis confirmed that construction began in early January 2025, approximately 0.5 kilometers from the village edges.
Israeli military installations have been established since early January 2025. These sites led to the bulldozing of forests near Jubata al-Khashab (Quneitra countryside, southern Syria) and the demolition of homes in al-Hamidiyah – September 17, 2025 (Human Rights Watch)
Human Rights Watch documented the arrest of 20 people, including a 17-year-old, since December 2024. Most were later released. The Israeli army responded in early September that its operations in southern Syria aim to “protect Israeli citizens.”
The report accused Israeli forces of uprooting orchards, bulldozing farmland, and cutting residents off from their livelihoods, alongside arbitrary arrests and the forced transfer of Syrian civilians into Israel. Displaced residents of Jubata al-Khashab described how they were fenced off from farmland that once sustained their families. One landowner said the military destroyed his home and surrounding land, leaving the family with nothing.
Other testimonies described how residents were barred from grazing livestock, forcing many to sell their herds, while decades-old fruit trees were uprooted. A local notable estimated that about 7,000 dunams of farmland—planted with olives, apples, and cherries—were fenced off with barbed wire or converted into military zones, cutting farmers’ income by nearly half.
Breach of International Law
Human Rights Watch described Israel’s actions in southern Syria as violations of international law. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits forced displacement of civilians from occupied territories except in exceptional cases of “imperative military reasons” or to ensure the security of civilians themselves.
Any evacuation must follow strict humanitarian safeguards, including adequate housing, civilian safety, and guaranteed return once conditions allow. Unjustified displacement in occupied territories constitutes a war crime.
The same convention prohibits transferring detainees from occupied territory into the occupier’s country, regardless of charges, and forbids destruction of civilian property unless directly required by ongoing military operations.
The Israeli army told Human Rights Watch that its operations “comply with international law,” describing demolitions in al-Hamidiyah as “necessary operational measures” in “uninhabited structures” and justifying arrests and transfers as “intelligence-based and subject to judicial review.” The organization countered that field evidence contradicts these claims and clearly breaches the laws of war.
It concluded that Israeli forces faced no immediate threat in the villages they raided and depopulated but instead sought to entrench long-term control through home demolitions, permanent infrastructure, and restrictions preventing residents’ return, undermining any claim of “temporary” displacement.
Calls for Accountability
Human Rights Watch urged governments to suspend military assistance to Israel so long as serious abuses, including war crimes, continue without accountability. It also called for reviewing bilateral cooperation, halting trade with settlements—including those in the occupied Syrian Golan—and pressing for international prosecution.
The group urged the United States, the European Union, Britain, and other countries to pursue accountability through “universal jurisdiction” cases, support International Criminal Court measures, and impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials implicated in violations, including blocking the return of displaced Syrians.
It stressed that such sanctions should remain in place until concrete steps guarantee the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of displaced residents.
Ongoing Incursions
Israeli raids and incursions in southern Syria have continued. On Wednesday, September 17, more than 15 Israeli army vehicles entered the towns of Jubata al-Khashab, Ofania, and Khan Arnaba (Quneitra province, southern Syria) for several hours before withdrawing.
Ahmad Abu Zain, an activist in Quneitra city, told Enab Baladi the forces spread across the three towns and arrested four people before pulling out, warning residents via loudspeakers not to leave their homes until the raid ended.
On September 15, Israeli forces entered the towns of Rafid and Ein Zuwan (Quneitra countryside) and arrested a young man, taking him to their base in Tal Ahmar to the west.
On September 14, Israeli forces conducted raids in western Daraa countryside, searching homes in Saysoon village for weapons but making no arrests.
In late August, Israeli forces entered al-Asha village (southern Quneitra countryside), searching homes and reportedly stealing money from some households, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Israel maintains that it seeks a demilitarized zone in southern Syria to prevent future cross-border attacks similar to those of October 7, 2023, according to an interview with the Israeli foreign minister in the Jerusalem Post on December 28, 2024.
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