Israel expands into southern Syria: 1,672 violations in 9 months, building a 'smart border'

A report released by Sijil, a Syrian research and monitoring center, shows that Israeli forces have carried out at least 1,672 violations inside Syrian territory from August 2025 to May 2026. Data shared with Middle East Eye indicates the violations escalated sharply after the recent US-Israel war targeting Iran.

March 2026 saw an unprecedented escalation, with more than 321 military operations, including 121 aerial operations and the detention of 41 civilians, the highest monthly figure to date.

On December 8, 2024, hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, Israel launched a large-scale ground operation into Syria aimed at seizing the buffer zone between the two countries. Israeli forces crossed the 1974 ceasefire line on the occupied Golan Heights, advancing deep into military positions in southern Syria — marking the first major ground incursion since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel took control of the UN-monitored buffer zone and occupied much of the demilitarized area, stretching more than 75 km in length and ranging from 10 km wide in the center to 200 m at the southern tip, pushing deep into the western parts of Daraa and Quneitra provinces. Within 48 hours of Assad's fall, 350 sq km of territory was seized, from Mount Hermon in the north to the Yarmouk Basin strip of Daraa in the south. Simultaneously, Israeli fighter jets carried out at least 350 airstrikes targeting military aircraft, air defense systems, and weapons depots across Syrian provinces.

Hamza Ghadban, head of the Sijil Center, said Israel has built nine military bases and is constructing a tenth. After the collapse of the Syrian government, the international community largely turned a blind eye to Israel's unprecedented military expansion operation in southern Syria.

In March and April 2025, Israel conducted two ground operations deep into southern Syria. The first targeted the village of Koya in the Yarmouk Basin, west of Daraa; the second advanced into Nawa, a town on the outskirts of Daraa that was a flashpoint during the Syrian war. Clashes occurred between Israeli forces and Syrian fighters, causing casualties.

Ghadban described the later phase when the Israeli military shifted from large-scale operations to a tactic of "silent strangulation": a continuous series of raids, incursions, and checkpoint establishments. The operational zone extends roughly 15 km from the 1974 demilitarized line into Syrian territory, forming a triangle from Mount Hermon to the Yarmouk Basin.

February 2026 saw a marked escalation in "serious operations" such as killings, detentions, house raids, and shelling. Targeted raids on homes and individuals increased sharply, with civilians often rounded up at checkpoints, subjected to abuse and sometimes physical violence.

According to internal Sijil documents, more than 80% of violations are concentrated in Quneitra province, followed by Daraa and Rif Dimashq (Damascus suburbs). In Quneitra, incursion frequency is higher in the northern and central rural areas due to terrain and population density. Satellite imagery from December 2024 and November 2025 shows a chain of military outposts and fortified positions along Quneitra's countryside.

Israel has leveled approximately 2,500 dunams of forest and agricultural land in Jubata al-Khashab to build a military base, later expanded into a fortified base. In al-Hamidiya, occupation forces demolished 16 houses to build a new base within about 50 days, displacing 12 families. At al-Adnaniyah, a new military base was established, becoming a network connection point for Israel's expanding presence in central Quneitra. Red Hill to the west, formerly a military position under the Assad government, has been turned by Israel into an advanced military position with firepower and surveillance deep into the south.

In the Yarmouk Basin, the villages of Maariya, Jamlah, Abdeen, and Kuwaya experience repeated night raids, with residents temporarily detained. Frontline village areas such as Bir Ajam, Bariqa, Ruwayhina in the center, and Kodna in the south are used as tactical corridors for Israeli deep penetration. Four military "gates" have been identified: Abu Ghithar Gate (for armored vehicles entering Wadi al-Raqqad), al-Asbah Gate, al-Razaniya Gate, and Majdal Shams Gate (for heavy military convoys to the Qurs al-Naf base).

Additionally, Sijil recorded Israel spraying unidentified chemicals on agricultural and grazing lands near the buffer zone, described by Ghadban as "environmental genocide." The first incident occurred in January 2026 in the villages of Kudna, al-Asha, and al-Asbah in southern Quneitra, later expanded northward. The spraying campaign extended over 65 km along the 1974 ceasefire line, causing widespread damage. Approximately 3,500 dunams of grazing land were affected, including 1,500 dunams of forest. Syria's Ministry of Agriculture said tests in February showed no acute toxicity, but Lebanon has previously detected glyphosate — a herbicide classified by the WHO as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

In early 2026, Israel announced a project to build a 500 km wall along the Syria-Jordan border with a budget of $1.7 billion, called the "Eastern Border Security Fence." Sijil claims Israel has signed an $80 million contract with US company Ondas Holdings and its Israeli subsidiary 4M Defence, under the guise of mine clearance but actually aimed at building an AI-managed "smart border" using sensors, drones (Optimus), and ground robots. Ghadban links this fence to the 'Sufa 53' project — a military road in Quneitra built by Israel since mid-2022, forming a fortified corridor under the supervision of the newly formed 96th 'Gilad' Division.

On April 17, 2026, the Israeli cabinet approved a law to facilitate the relocation of about 3,000 settlers to the Golan Heights by 2030, focusing on Katzrin — the second most populous settlement after Majdal Shams. Israeli officials have become increasingly open about their objectives: On April 9, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared there would be "a political conclusion in Syria with the Hermon Crown and the buffer zone." Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted that Israel "will not give up a single millimeter in Syria."

The new Syrian government has had no official contact or compensation for affected communities, according to Sijil. Syria's permanent representative to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, recently accused Israel of "terrorizing civilians, abductions, house raids, and continued encroachment into the separation area." However, after a 17-year-old was killed in an Israeli airstrike on April 3, Syrian officials visited the scene and repaired roads — a move "that never happened before," according to Ghadban.