Syrians Rally Against Israeli Incursions in the South After Disabled Man Is Killed

Protest rallies took place across Syria on Friday, with demonstrators condemning repeated Israeli incursions in the south of the country. One of the recent operations, earlier this week, killed a man with a disability.

According to state media, crowds gathered in the capital Damascus and in Homs, in central Syria. They denounced Israeli attacks and incursions in the southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa.

An AFP correspondent in the city of Daraa reported seeing hundreds of people at a rally, some of them waving Syrian flags. Protester Taysir al-Hariri told the agency that demonstrators had come out 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".

Footage broadcast by state television showed marchers at other rallies carrying posters that read "We are all Moaz". The slogan refers to the man with special needs whom Syria says was killed by Israeli fire a day earlier during an incursion in Daraa province.

Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of a Syrian man seized by Israel called for his release. Children held up posters reading "I want my dad".

State media also reported on Friday that Israeli forces advanced into part of Quneitra province and blocked several roads. Israeli troops have bulldozed olive groves, set up checkpoints and detained residents in the area.

The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria and made frequent incursions into its territory since the new government took power after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Israel also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the mainly Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

Israel has vowed to keep troops in a so-called "security zone" in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarised area.