Syrian civilian with disabilities killed in Israeli raid in Deraa, Sana reports
Israeli troops killed a civilian with disabilities while searching homes in Jamlah, a village in Syria's southern Deraa governorate, on Thursday, October 22, according to the Syrian state news agency Sana. Syrian media reported indiscriminate gunfire and snipers on rooftops during the operation.
Mariam Al Mansoori
Raid took place outside the buffer zone
About 15 Israeli military vehicles entered Jamlah, and troops took control of one of its access roads, Syrian broadcaster Al Ikhbariya reported. The broadcaster also described indiscriminate firing in residential neighborhoods during house searches, according to Demócrata's account of its reporting. Sana said the slain man's body was taken to Deraa National Hospital.
Jamlah is outside the Israeli-occupied buffer zone. Israeli forces nevertheless frequently enter areas beyond that zone, according to AFP reporting published by Naharnet.
The raid followed Israeli shelling near Abidin in western Deraa on Wednesday night. Two shells struck west of the town; no injuries or damage were reported.
UN reports September rise in incidents
In early October, the UN reported that Israel was holding 49 Syrians and had conducted 280 armed incursions into southern Syria during September.
The UN human rights office described the 280 recorded incidents as the highest monthly total of 2026. Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said they included home raids, limits on freedom of movement, civilian harassment and intimidation, destruction of livelihoods, and arbitrary detention, according to Demócrata.
A statement from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also relayed allegations by released detainees of torture and ill-treatment. They described being beaten, forced to stand for prolonged periods and threatened with harm to their families.
On Sunday, Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned increased Israeli incursions in Quneitra province and rural Deraa, as well as more frequent flights by helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft and warplanes over southern Syria. It said the violations "undermine the prospects for achieving stability and security in the region in general and Syria in particular, and obstruct reconstruction and recovery efforts". The ministry urged international action to stop the incursions and require Israeli compliance with international law and UN resolutions.
Israeli positions and the 1974 agreement
Israeli attacks and incursions have increased since Bashar Al Assad's regime was ousted in December 2024, with activity intensifying further in recent months. After the regime collapsed, Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement void, took control of the Syrian buffer zone and seized positions outside it.
Sana has reported continuing violations of the agreement, citing Israeli raids on civilian homes, arrests, land seizures, missile attacks and repeated military incursions in southern Syria.
During a September 9, 2026, visit to an Israeli military position on Mount Hermon inside Syrian territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established "absolute control" over an area extending south from the summit to the Yarmouk River and west to the Mediterranean Sea. Defense Minister Israel Katz described it as a "security zone" and said Israeli troops would stay, according to Security Council Report.
The UN Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, was established by the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement to supervise the buffer zone and areas of limitation in the Golan. On June 25, 2026, the Security Council adopted resolution S/RES/2824, extending the force's mandate by six months through December 31, 2026.
Security talks broke down
US-mediated security negotiations between Israel and Syria broke down after Israeli airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Idlib on August 18, 2026, according to Security Council Report. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on September 23 that the parties had reached about 90 percent agreement on a security framework before Israel withdrew.
In his address to the UN General Assembly that same day, al-Sharaa said Israel had carried out "500 airstrikes, more than 1,200 incursions, and 300 detentions" since his government took power.
