Syrians Protest Israeli Incursions After Man With Disability Killed

Syrian authorities have faced renewed public pressure as the Israeli military maintains a heavy presence in the country's southern provinces. Demonstrations erupted across the nation on Friday, focusing on the recent death of a man with a disability during a border operation.

The protests followed a series of military actions that began earlier this week. In one incident, Israeli forces killed Moaz, a man with special needs, in Daraa province. State media reported that crowds gathered in the capital, Damascus, and in the central city of Homs to denounce these incursions in the Quneitra and Daraa provinces.

In Daraa, an AFP correspondent observed hundreds of people attending a rally. Some participants waved Syrian flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a protestor at the scene, told the agency that the group aimed to "send a message to the world" regarding Syria's unity against what he called attempts to tamper with national security.

Footage from state television showed marchers holding posters with the slogan "We are all Moaz." Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of a man seized by Israeli forces demanded his release. Their children held signs reading "I want my dad."

State media confirmed that Israeli forces had advanced into part of Quneitra province on Friday. They blocked several roads in the area. Israeli troops have also bulldozed olive groves, established checkpoints, and detained local residents.

The Israeli military has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria since the new government took power in December 2024, following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Israel has also deployed troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated the two militaries since 1974. The Israeli government has vowed to keep soldiers in a "security zone" in the south while seeking a larger demilitarized area.