Why Is Israel's Military Presence Growing in Syria?

Ahmad Hassan al-Din has not seen his son, Saddam, for two years, four months, 24 days, and five hours. In April 2024, Israeli soldiers apprehended Saddam, who had just turned 17, from farmland near the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

"Saddam had gone to feed the animals early in the morning," al-Din, from the village of Jubata al-Khashab in the Quneitra district, told DW. "I called him on the phone, and he told me, 'Everything's fine.' But then later we saw with our own eyes how they took the boy, handcuffed and shackled." Al-Din provided DW with a video, previously verified by open-source investigators and human rights organizations, showing Israeli soldiers escorting his son through fields.

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It's been two years, four months, 24 days and five hours since I last saw my son.

Al-Din stated that the soldiers claimed Saddam was detained for trespassing on Israeli territory, despite the area being his family's farmland and possessing a valid UN permit for cultivation. Access to this buffer zone requires a special pass from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), established to maintain separation between Israeli and Syrian forces following a 1974 disengagement agreement. Humanitarian organizations now believe Saddam, now 19, is likely imprisoned in Israel.

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Saddam had gone to feed the animals early in the morning. I called him on the phone, and he told me, 'Everything's fine.' But then later we saw with our own eyes how they took the boy, handcuffed and shackled.

When asked about Saddam's charges and the legal system involved, the Israeli military provided a statement similar to those sent to other media and rights groups. It indicated that Israel detains Syrians suspected of posing a threat but did not confirm if Saddam was considered one of them. The military's response did not specify the charges against the young farmer.

Since Saddam's abduction, numerous similar accounts have emerged from this region of southern Syria. Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel assumed control of the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone. Senior Israeli officials declared the 1974 agreement obsolete, asserting troops would remain temporarily for security. However, Israel's presence has become more entrenched, with UNDOF reporting in November 2025 that Israel had established 10 bases in the area. From these bases, Israeli soldiers conduct near-daily patrols into Syria's Daraa and Quneitra provinces. These operations often include armored patrols through populated areas, temporary checkpoints where civilians are stopped, searched, and have their phones examined, with biometric data sometimes collected, according to Syrian consultancy Karam Shaar Advisory. Israeli forces have also raided homes, businesses, and schools, and have fenced off farmland and water sources.

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They said they took him because he was trespassing on the territory of the state of Israel. Even though that area is our farmland and we have a valid UN permit to work there.