The Israeli military’s deliberate destruction of civilian homes in Quneitra governorate in southern Syria since December 2024, with no absolute military necessity, should be investigated as war crimes, said Amnesty International today. Israel has an obligation to make reparations for these serious violations of international humanitarian law, which should be tailored towards addressing the specific harms faced by the victims.
On 8 December 2024 – the day the former Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad fell – Israeli military forces crossed through the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory Israel has occupied since 1967, into three villages and towns located within the UN-Demilitarized zone in the Quneitra governorate in southern Syria, conducting home raids and ordering residents to leave.
Over the following six months, the Israeli military destroyed or damaged at least 23 civilian structures in three villages, which witnesses described as their and their neighbours’ homes and said had the effect of displacing entire families. Amnesty International was able to verify through satellite imagery the damage and destruction to 23 structures in these villages. Witnesses reported that at least two additional homes were destroyed, as well as adjacent gardens and agricultural land, in 2024 and 2025. There were no active hostilities immediately prior, during or after the destruction to civilian buildings. Generally, international humanitarian law applies to any attacks Israel conducts throughout Syrian territory. In areas that Israel occupies, the law of occupation imposes additional obligations, including under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
