Amnesty International confirmed today, Thursday, that the Israeli army’s destruction of civilian homes in southern Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad should be investigated as “war crimes”.

After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel deployed forces in a buffer zone previously monitored by the United Nations, separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights under the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Israel has carried out repeated incursions into Syrian territories, especially in the Quneitra governorate, adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights, announcing its intention to establish a demilitarized zone in the south of the country.

Amnesty International stated in a release that the deliberate destruction of civilian homes by the Israel Defense Forces in Quneitra Governorate in southern Syria since December 2024, without absolute military necessity, should be investigated as war crimes.

It added, “Israel has a duty to provide compensation for these serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

It continued: “Over the following six months, the Israeli army destroyed or damaged no less than 23 civilian buildings in three villages, described by witnesses as their own homes and those of their neighbors”.

Amnesty International was able to verify the damage to 23 buildings in these villages through satellite imagery, according to the statement.

Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office at Amnesty International, said: 'Securing Israel's borders cannot be used as justification for bulldozing homes and blowing up people's villages on another country's land'.

Israeli operations continued in southern Syria even as new authorities in Damascus conducted talks with Israeli officials in recent months, moving toward a security agreement after decades of hostilities in Syria.