Syrians Protest After Israeli Fire Kills Disabled Man in Southern Raids
Rallies in Damascus and Homs coincide with new ground incursions into Quneitra and Daraa provinces, where troops have detained residents and bulldozed olive groves.
By Nicholas Martin ·
Syrian protesters marched across the country on Friday to challenge repeated Israeli military operations in the south. The demonstrations followed the death of a man with a disability, identified by state media as Moaz, who was killed by Israeli fire during an incursion in Daraa province earlier in the week.
Crowds gathered in the capital, Damascus, and in Homs, which is located in central Syria. In the city of Daraa, an AFP correspondent observed hundreds of participants waving Syrian flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a protester, told the agency that the crowd aimed to "send a message to the world" that Syria stands united "against Israeli incursions and against anyone who is tempted to tamper. with national security".
State television broadcast footage of marchers holding posters with the slogan "We are all Moaz." The phrase directly references the victim of the recent attack. Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of another Syrian man detained by Israel demanded his release. Children in the crowd held up posters reading "I want my dad".
State media reported on Friday that Israeli forces advanced into part of Quneitra province. Troops blocked several roads, bulldozed olive groves, and established checkpoints while detaining local residents in the area.
The Israeli military has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria since the new government took power in December 2024, following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Israel also deployed troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated the two armies on the Golan Heights since 1974. The Israeli military maintains that it will keep forces in a "security zone" in southern Syria while seeking a larger demilitarized area.
Source: Middle East Eye
