Arab News | Israeli troops burned house, feed warehouse in southern Syria, state media say

LONDON: Israeli troops raided and burned a house and set fire to a nearby animal feed warehouse in southern Syria’s Daraa province on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.

State-run Alikhbaria TV said the troops stormed the house in the Wadi Al-Raqqad area of western Daraa before setting both properties ablaze. There were no immediate reports of casualties or details on the extent of the damage. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

The reported raid comes amid intensified Israeli military operations in Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad in December 2024. Israel has carried out airstrikes on military sites and expanded its presence in the buffer zone near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Syrian authorities have repeatedly condemned the incursions and strikes as violations of the country’s sovereignty and called on Israel to withdraw to positions established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

The two countries have been engaged in US-mediated talks aimed at reaching security arrangements and restoring the agreement.

Despite those diplomatic efforts, a Syrian human rights group reported 84 Israeli military incursions into southern Syria from Oct. 1 to 15, mostly in Quneitra province, with others in Daraa and western areas of Damascus.

The group said Israeli forces blocked farmers from their land, expelled shepherds, uprooted olive trees, damaged homes and other private property, detained people and shelled areas near farmland. It also reported restrictions on journalists documenting military activity near the ceasefire line.

Warning that such actions threatened residents’ livelihoods, the group called for civilians to be protected, people arbitrarily detained to be released and access to farmland and grazing areas to be restored. It also urged accountability under international law.

The findings echo concerns raised by UN human rights officials about the impact of Israeli operations on civilians in southern Syria.

Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said Oct. 9 that the agency’s chief, Volker Turk, was concerned about the continuing toll on civilians.

About 280 incidents involving armed Israeli incursions into Syria were recorded through open-source monitoring in September alone — the highest monthly total since the start of the year.

Reported incidents included raids on homes, restrictions on movement, harassment and intimidation of civilians, arbitrary detention and destruction of livelihoods.