UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Israeli forces carried out 280 armed incursions into southern Syria in September, the highest monthly number recorded since the beginning of the year. His office also reported that 49 Syrians remain in Israeli detention, though it couldn't independently verify the figure.
Incursions and detention
Turk's office said information it had received put the number of Syrians held by Israel at 49. The office hasn't verified that number. The statement gave no further details about the detainees.
Released detainees alleged that they had suffered torture and ill-treatment, Turk's office said. They described beatings, prolonged forced standing and threats against their families. The office reported their allegations, but didn't say it had independently verified them.
Open-source monitoring cited by the office described a range of actions during the incursions, including reported raids on homes, restrictions on movement, harassment and intimidation of civilians, arbitrary detention and destruction of livelihoods. The reports point to effects on civilian movement, homes and livelihoods in southern Syria.
Turk called on Israeli authorities to halt the actions. His office urged them to “cease actions that harass or intimidate civilians in Syrian villages, including raids, restrictions on freedom of movement, detention and destruction of crops”. The statement specifically listed restrictions on movement and destruction of crops alongside raids and detention.
Fortifications along the occupied Golan
Syria accused Israel of building major military fortifications in Syrian territory along the occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israel was working to complete its “Sufa 53 Line” and that the work violated previous agreements.
The report says areas near the Golan Heights have seen more Israeli incursions this year. Israeli troops crossed into southern Syria and areas west of Damascus soon after rebel forces led by current President Ahmad Al Shara ousted the regime of Bashar Al Assad in December 2024. Israeli forces occupied parts of those regions.
The account links the incursions to an ongoing Israeli military presence beyond the 1974 armistice line adjacent to the Golan Heights. Negotiations between Israeli and Syrian officials have included a proposed return of Israeli forces to that line. The report doesn't say a return has taken place.
Talks and the 1974 line
The US backs Syria's current rulers and has supervised several meetings between Israeli and Syrian officials aimed at negotiating a peace deal. The discussions covered halting Israeli attacks on Syria and returning Israeli forces to the 1974 armistice line adjacent to the Golan Heights.
The meetings addressed both Israeli attacks and the position of Israeli forces in Syrian territory. No agreement or withdrawal timetable appears in the report. It records the diplomatic discussions alongside the UN account of 280 armed incursions in September, the reported detention of 49 Syrians and allegations from released detainees of abuse in custody.