Inside Syria, night raids and farm permits mark Israel’s expanding reach

Israel intensified its military operations in southern Syria, conducting a drone strike near Beit Jinn on August 22 that injured a Syrian man identified by Israeli authorities as Ammar Saeed Hamada, a terrorist posing an immediate threat. The Israeli military stated Hamada was in the advanced stages of preparing an attack.

However, local reports and the Syrian news organization Enab Baladi offered a different narrative, suggesting Hamada was involved in private business rather than a military operation. Syrian media condemned the strike as a violation of Syrian sovereignty. The conflicting accounts could not be independently verified.

Hamada is reportedly a cousin of two other men detained during a previous Israeli operation in Beit Jinn in November. While one was later released, the other remains in custody. This incident is part of a broader pattern of Israeli actions in southern Syria.

Recent weeks have seen further Israeli incursions, including ground raids and the bulldozing of land near agricultural fields. In one instance on July 15, Israeli bulldozers razed ground near power turbines in the southern Quneitra countryside, preventing farmers from accessing their land for fear of arrest. Another raid on August 19 saw approximately 100 Israeli soldiers search homes in Jubata al-Khashab, detaining two young men, one of whom was later released while the other remains in custody.

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I cannot access my land because the Israeli army had previously bulldozed it completely.