Syrians protest Israeli southern strikes

Protesters across Syria marched on Friday to challenge recent Israeli military operations in the country's south.

The demonstrations followed a strike earlier in the week that killed Moaz, a man with a disability, during an incursion in Daraa province. State media reported that crowds gathered in the capital, Damascus, and in the central city of Homs. These groups specifically denounced attacks in the southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa. An AFP correspondent in Daraa observed hundreds of participants, some waving Syrian flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a protester at that rally, told the agency the crowd aimed to send a global message that Syria stands united against Israeli incursions.

Footage from state television showed marchers holding posters with the phrase "We are all Moaz." This slogan references the disabled man Syria says was killed by Israeli fire. Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of a Syrian man detained by Israel called for his release. Children in that group held posters reading "I want my dad."

State media also reported that Israeli forces advanced into part of Quneitra province on Friday. The military blocked several roads in the area. Troops bulldozed olive groves, established checkpoints, and detained residents. The Israeli military has conducted hundreds of strikes and frequent incursions since Syria's new government took power in December 2024. This followed the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. Israel also moved troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated the two armies on the Golan Heights since 1974.

Israel has vowed to keep troops in a designated security zone in southern Syria. The country seeks a wider demilitarized area in that region.