UN Inquiry Warns Israel’s Syrian Raids, Detentions May Amount To War Crimes

A UN inquiry warned that some Israeli military actions in Syrian territory may amount to war crimes, as Israeli forces continued raids, detentions and incursions across southern Syria.

““We are deeply alarmed by violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Israel on Syrian territory, which may amount to war crimes,””

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Commissioner Fionnuala Ni Aolain told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, “We are deeply alarmed by violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Israel on Syrian territory, which may amount to war crimes,” framing the warning around repeated ground incursions, patrols, raids and searches.

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The inquiry said Israeli forces had detained 49 people on Syrian territory as of September, including two children, and that some detainees were reportedly being held incommunicado.

Reuters reported that the UN commission said Israeli operations in southern Syria have become “persistent and deeply rooted,” with repeated incursions, patrols, air raids, and inspections harming civilians.

The commission tied its warning to a pattern of increasingly entrenched activity, saying it was particularly alarmed by repeated ground incursions, patrols, raids and searches that have disrupted communities and displaced residents.

The inquiry said it documented recurring ground incursions, patrols, raids and searches that have disrupted civilian life, and it assessed that Syria’s transition depends on comprehensive accountability rather than selective justice.

As of June, Reuters said the commission had identified 49 Syrians, including two children, detained by the Israeli army on Syrian territory and believed to have been transferred across the border, while the commission also said some detainees were held in solitary confinement.

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In Geneva, the Israeli mission accused the commission of holding a “session to misdirect criticisms toward Israel,” and Reuters reported that Israel said it maintains a temporary buffer zone equal to 0.1 percent of Syria’s area to protect its citizens from confirmed security threats.

The UN commission also described Israeli military activity as causing displacement of civilians and characterized the Israeli presence as an “occupying force,” while Syria’s representative welcomed the findings and affirmed Damascus’s commitment to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms.

Reuters added that Israeli forces entered a UN-monitored buffer zone after Assad’s government collapsed in December 2024, a move Israel described as temporary and necessary to secure its borders during the political transition.

Beyond detentions and raids, the UN commission warned that accountability for international crimes would be essential to Syria’s transition and cautioned that selective justice could deepen grievances and obstruct reconciliation.

““A selectively applied justice with respect to the crimes committed is not compatible with international justice and could also revive grievances and undermine reconciliation,””

EFE

AFP, via EFE, reported that the commission warned “A selectively applied justice with respect to the crimes committed is not compatible with international justice and could also revive grievances and undermine reconciliation,” linking the legal stakes to the country’s rebuilding after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.E

EFE also said the commission recalled that this month the Israel Defense Forces detained 49 people, including two children, in Syrian territory, and that some remain incommunicado, raising fears of possible torture and mistreatment.E

The commission further warned that Israeli activities in Syrian territory include fumigation of agricultural lands, tree felling and the destruction of homes, particularly affecting rural populations in the south of the country.

EFE reported that the commission recommended strengthening accountability for violence recorded in the period following the fall of al-Assad, including massacres in coastal and western Syria in early 2025 and violent events that occurred in al-Suwayda in July of last year.E