Syrian Protests: Hundreds Rally Against Israeli Advances
Demonstrators in Damascus and Daraa demand the release of detainees and mark the death of Moaz, a man with disabilities killed in recent fighting.
By Petra Murphy ·
Hundreds of people gathered in the city of Daraa on Friday to protest repeated Israeli military operations in southern Syria. The rallies followed an incursion earlier this week that state media says killed Moaz, a man with special needs.
State media reported that crowds also formed in the capital, Damascus, and in Homs. In Daraa, an AFP correspondent observed demonstrators waving Syrian flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a protester, told the agency that the group aimed to send a message to the world that Syria stands united against Israeli incursions and any attempts to tamper with national security.
Footage from state television showed marchers carrying posters with the slogan "We are all Moaz." Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of a Syrian man seized by Israeli forces called for his release. Children in that group held up signs reading "I want my dad."
Israeli forces advanced into parts of Quneitra province and blocked several roads on Friday. Troops in the area bulldozed olive groves and set up checkpoints. Authorities detained residents in the sector.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria since the new government took power in December 2024 after toppling Bashar al-Assad. Israeli troops also moved into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated forces on the Golan Heights since 1974. Israel has vowed to maintain troops in a security zone in southern Syria while seeking a demilitarized area.
