Ankara: The Israeli military has established six new bases in Syria's southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa over the past three months, further expanding its presence in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
According to Anadolu Agency, soon after the regime's fall, Israel intensified airstrikes across Syria and extended its military operations beyond the occupied Golan Heights into the demilitarized buffer zone-an area designated as neutral under the agreement brokered after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The bases built by Israel are generally located near strategic hills and intersections of main roads, especially those in rural Quneitra designed to directly monitor nearby villages.
Following Assad's collapse, Israel first constructed bases within the buffer zone in the villages of Jubata al-Khashab, Qurs al-Nafal, and Al-Qahtaniyah in Quneitra, and one outside the zone in the village of Kwdana. In the last three months, additional bases have been established in Daraa's villages of Al-Shajara, Maariya, and Abidin, and in Quneitra's Tulul al-Humr, Al-Hamidiyah, and near the Mantara Dam-marking a continued breach of the disengagement accord. This brings the total number of Israeli military bases in southern Syria to 10 since the regime's collapse.
The base in Tulul al-Humr is now the closest Israeli military site to Damascus, located just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Syrian capital. The largest installation in the area remains the base in Jubata al-Khashab.
The growing military presence has led to mass displacement. Around 6,000 people fled Al-Hamidiyah village after the Israeli army set up a base there. Israeli soldiers came at night and demolished 15 homes, Mohammed Ali, a father of three who was displaced from Hamidiyah, told Anadolu. Ali said Israeli soldiers claimed villagers would return within three days. 'It's been six months.'
Mohammed Abu Fahid said Israeli forces damaged roughly 2,000 dunams (about 500 acres) of farmland by digging trenches and occupying areas outside the agreed buffer zone. The living conditions in Al-Hamidiyah are dire, Abu Fahid said, adding that Israel only distributed aid once or twice. In Khan Arnabeh village, Basel Osman said Israeli forces destroyed a centuries-old forest and questioned the international community's response.
Security concerns have restricted locals' movement. 'People can't leave their homes after dark,' said Ahmet Kivan of Jubata al-Khashab. Kivan accused the international community of indifference and called for human rights groups to act. Mohammed Meryud, also from Jubata al-Khashab, said Israeli forces routinely set up temporary checkpoints and conduct raids, preventing farmers from reaching their fields.