DAMASCUS: Hundreds of Syrians took to the streets on Friday to protest against Israeli military incursions into southern Syria, a day after Israeli forces shot dead a man with Down syndrome during a raid on a village in Daraa province.
Demonstrations were held in Damascus, Quneitra, Homs and Hasakah, where protesters condemned the killing and repeated Israeli incursions, arrests and shelling, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
In the capital, hundreds gathered outside the UN building in Mazzeh district, calling for an end to Israeli military operations and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Relatives of people killed or detained by Israeli forces joined the demonstration, while hundreds of residents, including women and children, protested in Quneitra.
Similar gatherings took place in Homs’ New Clock Square and the Ghuwayran neighborhood of Hasakah.
The protests followed Thursday’s killing of Muath Salama Al-Baeer, a man with Down syndrome, during an Israeli military operation in the village of Jamla in the western Daraa countryside.
Residents told the Associated Press that Al-Baeer was unarmed when Israeli soldiers shot him. He had been living with his sisters following the deaths of his parents.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, Israeli forces entered the village’s eastern neighborhood and deployed snipers on the rooftops of residential buildings.
The Israeli military said that its soldiers had identified a person approaching them during an operation and opened fire after he continued advancing despite warnings. It said that the incident was under review.
Al-Baeer was buried in his village on Thursday, as residents expressed growing anger over Israeli military operations in the area.
Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the killing, holding Israel responsible and describing attacks on civilians as violations of international law.
It called on the international community to intervene to halt Israeli incursions, warning that the continued operations threatened regional stability and undermined Syria’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Meanwhile, Israeli incursions continued on Friday, with Sana reporting that military vehicles and a bulldozer advanced in southern Quneitra and blocked several roads.
On Thursday Israeli troops searched homes in Al-Hurriya village in northern Quneitra, demolished an abandoned house near Al-Hamidiyah and fired toward agricultural land around Kodna, the news agency said.
Damascus has repeatedly accused Israel of violating the 1974 disengagement agreement through incursions, arrests, shelling and the destruction of agricultural land and has called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Syria.
Israel has expanded its military presence in southern Syria since the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, occupying a UN-monitored buffer zone established under the 1974 disengagement agreement and conducting repeated incursions beyond it.
The Israeli military says its operations are necessary to protect its border and prevent security threats, while Damascus has demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory.
The two countries have held US-mediated talks aimed at reaching a security arrangement, but disagreements over Israel’s military presence and continued operations have complicated efforts to reach an agreement.