The Albany Gazette - Hundreds of Syrians protest repeated Israeli incursions

The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria and conducted frequent incursions into its territory since Islamist authorities took power after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

It also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the mainly Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

Protesters rallied in several locations including Damascus and central Syria's Homs, decrying Israeli incursions and attacks in the southern Quneitra and Daraa provinces, state media reported.

An AFP correspondent in Daraa city saw hundreds rallying, some waving Syrian flags.

Protester Taysir al-Hariri told AFP that demonstrators had gathered to "send a message to the world" that Syria stands united "against Israeli incursions and against anyone who is tempted to tamper... with national security".

State television footage of other rallies showed protesters carrying posters reading "We are all Moaz", referring to the man with special needs who Syria said was killed by Israeli fire a day earlier during an incursion in Daraa province.

Syria accuses Israel of violating a 1974 disengagement agreement through repeated incursions in the south, the raiding of homes there and the seizing of dozens of residents, in conjunction with other military activity including shelling.

In Damascus, outside a United Nations building, the family of a Syrian man seized by Israel called for his release, with children holding posters reading "I want my dad".

State media on Friday also reported that Israeli forces advanced in part of Quneitra province and blocked several roads.

Israel has vowed to keep troops in a so-called "security zone" in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarised area.

Syria and Israel have held negotiations as they seek to reach a security agreement, but Israel remains distrustful of Syria's Islamist authorities.

(K.Jones--TAG)