Amnesty International called for an investigation into the Israeli army’s deliberate destruction of civilian homes in Quneitra (southern Syria) since December 2024, without absolute military necessity, saying the acts amount to war crimes.
Amnesty said on May 14 that the destruction of homes requires Israel to provide reparations for these serious violations of international humanitarian law, and that reparations must be specifically designed to address the particular harm faced by victims.
The organization said Israeli forces, over the six months following their incursion into the demilitarized zone between the occupied Syrian Golan and areas of Quneitra under Syrian control since December 8, 2024, raided homes and ordered residents to leave.
The Israeli army also destroyed or damaged at least 23 civilian buildings in three villages, which witnesses described as their homes and those of their neighbors, saying this led to the displacement of entire families.
Amnesty International verified the damage and destruction of 23 buildings in these villages through satellite imagery, while eyewitnesses reported that at least two additional homes were destroyed, along with adjacent gardens and farmland, in 2024 and 2025.
The organization noted that the area in question did not witness direct active hostilities before, during, or after the destruction of the civilian buildings.
It said international humanitarian law applies to any attacks carried out by Israel across Syrian territory, and that in areas occupied by Israel, occupation law imposes additional duties, including under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Destruction a Hallmark of Israeli Operations
Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the unlawful destruction of civilian property has become a hallmark of Israeli military operations in the region, documented over the past years in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Beckerle said Amnesty’s investigations had shown the same pattern in Syria as well, through Israeli forces repeatedly and deliberately forcing families to evacuate their homes and then destroying them in a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
She stressed that securing Israel’s borders cannot be used as a justification for bulldozing and blowing up people’s homes and villages on the territory of another country.
She added that families in southern Syria had suffered through a decade-long conflict, and many had barely rebuilt their homes during that period before seeing them demolished again, without any absolute military necessity.
Documentation of Demolitions
Amnesty International said it interviewed eight residents of Quneitra governorate, four people whose homes were demolished, two people who witnessed the demolition of their neighbors’ homes, one person with direct knowledge of damage caused by Israeli forces to one of the governorate’s buildings, and a local representative.
The accounts of those interviewed, which Amnesty said were corroborated by media reports, indicated the absence of any direct active hostilities before, during, or after the destruction and damage to civilian buildings in southern Syria.
Amnesty International verified 35 videos and photos, some of which showed bulldozers demolishing homes or the rubble of what appeared to be homes in the villages.
The organization also reviewed media reports, including Israeli media outlets, Israeli government statements, and analyzed satellite imagery for each affected area to confirm the demolitions within the time frame described by witnesses.
Israeli Incursion Into Southern Syria
The Israeli army entered the buffer zone separating the occupied Syrian Golan and Syrian territory after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, citing security concerns over attacks similar to Operation al-Aqsa Flood from the Syrian border.
Israeli forces established nine military bases in the area, amid incursions, arrest campaigns, home searches, and checkpoints that cut off neighboring villages from one another, in addition to demolitions of some civilian homes in Quneitra and the destruction of some buildings in the ruined city of Quneitra, such as al-Golan Hospital, al-Andalus Cinema, and others.
Despite Syrian government statements that it is not considering any military action that would threaten Israel, and despite the two sides entering more than one round of negotiations to reach a security agreement, the Israeli government has remained insistent on its demands to maintain military deployment points inside Syrian territory.
The Syrian government rejected these demands, stressing the need for Israel to withdraw from all areas it entered inside Syrian territory after December 8, 2024.
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