The Israeli army demolished the Dagestan Mosque, the courthouse, and surrounding buildings in the ruined city of Quneitra (southwestern Syria) on the evening of Thursday, April 24.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra said the city witnessed the sound of explosions that shook the area, the first on Thursday morning and the second in the evening.
It later became clear that the explosions resulted from detonation operations carried out by Israeli army forces stationed in the ruined city of Quneitra. The operations destroyed what remained of the Dagestan Mosque, located in the city center, along with neighboring buildings.
According to the correspondent, these actions aim to further fortify the military base, in addition to removing evidence of the brutality of the acts committed.
Local sources around the area told Enab Baladi that these actions are part of fortifications carried out by Israeli army forces, whether for the military base in the city or for the fortification works along the “Sufa” line, which involve digging trenches and raising berms along the ceasefire line.
The remaining buildings are currently being destroyed, while al-Andalus Cinema, al-Golan Hospital, and Ibn al-Haytham Secondary School were destroyed last January, according to the correspondent.
Parts of Quneitra city had been destroyed by the Israeli army after its withdrawal following the October War in 1974.
Israeli army incursions continue in the Quneitra countryside, amid searches, raids, arrests, and the establishment of checkpoints on roads.
After the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, the Israeli army began a new campaign of incursions inside Syria, entering areas it considered closed military zones and positioning itself there.
UNDOF Meets Quneitra Residents
A delegation from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF, met several residents and relatives of detainees held in Israeli prisons in Jubata al-Khashab (Quneitra, southern Syria) on Tuesday, April 21.
The meeting focused on residents’ demands and humanitarian concerns, with emphasis on the violations and breaches affecting the population, particularly the detainees’ file, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra.
The correspondent said residents called for the release of detainees held in prisons run by the Israeli army, clarification of their fate, and an end to violations by Israeli forces in the area bordering the occupied Golan.
UNDOF forces had intensified their presence near the villages of Rafid, Suwaysah, and Sida Golan in southern Quneitra on April 9, in preparation for patrols along the separation line with the occupied Syrian Golan.
Residents Demand Detainee Releases and End to Violations
Hussein Saad al-Din, a resident of Jubata al-Khashab, told Enab Baladi that he asked the delegation to secure the release of his son, Saddam, who is only 17 years old and has been detained for more than a year and a half.
He also stressed the need to stop repeated violations against innocent civilians in the ceasefire area and to end harassment of residents, especially in farming and grazing.
Hael al-Abdallah, the mukhtar of Al-Samdaniyah village, told Enab Baladi that the meeting had been repeated more than once with UN delegations, but without result.
He said residents had repeatedly demanded an end to Israeli violations and arrests, the release of detainees, a halt to the bulldozing of agricultural land, and an end to restrictions on cultivated areas.
Most of the families who attended the meeting with the UN delegation had been harmed by the arrest of a family member, including families from Beit Jinn (Rif Dimashq, southern Syria), Jubata al-Khashab, and Ghadir al-Bustan, according to the mukhtar of Al-Samdaniyah.
The meeting came at the request of the UN team, which holds regular meetings in different parts of the province in the presence of district directors. Members of the UN team said their task was to raise these demands and discuss them with higher bodies within UN organizations.
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