UN researchers warned before the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Sept. 8 that Israel’s military actions in Syria violate international humanitarian law and human rights law and could be classified as war crimes.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria described the Israeli military presence as an increasingly sustained and entrenched intervention, citing ground incursions, patrols and house searches that cause forced displacement of the Syrian civilian population. Commissioner Fionnuala Ni Aolain said the commission was deeply alarmed.
A UN report documented that, as of September, Israeli forces were holding 49 people deprived of liberty in Syria, including two minors. The experts said the hostile activity represented one of the main external obstacles to a stable transition in the Arab nation.
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A local monitoring group recorded 267 Israeli violations in August alone and 1,752 between January and August 2026.
Political analyst Jaafar Khaddour said the Israeli incursions appeared to be laying the foundations for a new reality still pending announcement, while Damascus had offered concession after concession only to face increasing pressure. Khaddour said Tel Aviv’s objective was to keep Syria weak, expand its security zone and influence the government that assumed power after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
On the domestic front, Druze armed factions loyal to spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri carried out a multi-axis assault against government positions in As-Suwayda between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, leaving two civilians dead and 10 security personnel wounded. Al-Hijri declared last month that Syria’s Druze are an integral part of the State of Israel, demanding autonomy and a separate state while thanking Israel for its backing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mt. Hermon in Syria, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Deputy Chief-of-Staff Maj- Gen. Tamir Yadai.
The Prime Minister was briefed at an IDF outpost overlooking Syria by Head of Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Rafi Milo and… pic.twitter.com/pnEYLyKQya
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 9, 2026
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani denounced on Aug. 20 that Israel had abandoned commitments assumed during earlier talks on a security agreement, though he affirmed that Damascus remained open to negotiations if the Zionist entity showed real political will. Al-Shaibani rejected the argument that the attacks were linked to a Turkish presence in Syrian territory.
Previously, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified an offensive of eight strikes carried out on Aug. 18 against the runway of the Abu al-Duhur military base in rural Idlib, on the premise that Damascus was about to break an agreed security status quo by allowing the deployment of Turkish troops.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called the bombings an unjustified act of aggression and a dangerous escalation. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack indicated that the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa had not adopted a predatory stance or maintained proxy forces, repeatedly signaling its preference for de-escalation with Israel.
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