Amnesty International Calls for Probe into Israeli War Crimes in Southern Syria

Amnesty International has called for an immediate investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli army in southern Syria following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad. The human rights organization reports that Israeli forces deliberately destroyed civilian homes and forcibly displaced residents in three villages within the Kuneitra governorate. These actions occurred after an Islamist coalition took power in Syria in late 2024, prompting Israel to deploy troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights. Using satellite imagery and witness testimonies, Amnesty verified the destruction of at least 23 buildings between 2024 and 2025, noting that no active hostilities were present during these incidents. Kristine Beckerle, a regional director at Amnesty, condemned the acts as unnecessary for border security and described the illegal destruction of civilian property as a hallmark of recent Israeli military operations in the region, similar to patterns observed in Gaza and Lebanon. Despite ongoing US-mediated talks between Syria and Israel aimed at establishing a security agreement, Amnesty insists that such demolitions constitute war crimes requiring international scrutiny.