The main security trend in Quneitra governorate during the reference period was the ongoing and expanding presence of Israeli forces in the area.1328 Israeli activity in southern Syria was reportedly highest in Quneitra, followed by Dar’a governorate, and Quneitra remained the primary zone of direct contact.1329 More than 900 IDF incursions into the governorate were reported throughout 2025.1330 According to an analysis by the Syrian Sijil Centre quoted by MEE, the recorded number of Israeli incursions was higher in northern and central Quneitra than in the south, with central Quneitra being particularly affected by Israeli military operations, both in terms of density and intensity.1331
Israeli activities included the establishment of military positions,1332 fortification works,1333 patrols,1334 and the setting up of temporary checkpoints.1335 Restrictions of movement,1336 including to agricultural land,1337 orchards, grazing routes and water points limited the local population’s ability to maintain their livelihoods.1338 Other sources described incidents of house searches,1339 interrogations,1340 and detentions, including of children. In some cases, detained civilians were brought into Israeli-controlled territory, or information about their status and whereabouts was not available.1341
Analysing the security situation since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad, the UNCOI stated that the IDF had ‘placed additional territory under its authority in fact’, thereby expanding its area of occupation in Quneitra governorate.1342
In April 2026, Syrian authorities reportedly claimed to have foiled preparations for a rocket attack in Quneitra governorate planned by a Hezbollah-linked cell1343 ─ a claim rejected by Hezbollah, saying that it had ‘no presence on Syrian territory’.1344 ACLED data indicated Hezbollah as a main security-related actor in the governorate during the reference period, particularly in March and April 2026, predominantly due to the group’s rocket and missile attacks fired from Lebanon on Israeli positions.1345
- 1328
SNHR, The Fifteenth Annual Report on Human Rights Situation in Syria 2025, 26 March 2026, url, p. 12
- 1329
SARI Global, Southern Syria Under Pressure: Israeli Operations, Civilian Dynamics, and Emerging Risk Trajectories, 2 April 2026, url, p. 2
- 1330
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/62, 12 March 2026, url, para. 82 and Annex I section III.A, FN 150
- 1331
MEE, Smart borders, military gates and land seizures: How Israel is encroaching in southern Syria, 5 May 2026, url
- 1332
UN DPPA, Gaza ceasefire 'increasingly fragile' as Israeli strikes and armed activities by Hamas and other groups continue, ASG Khiari tells Security Council, 28 April 2026, url; Syria Direct, Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on, 14 November 2025, url
- 1333
Enab Baladi, Israeli Army Intensifies Moves, Fortifications in Quneitra, 12 May 2026, url; UNOCHA, Syrian Arab Republic: Humanitarian Response in Southern Syria - Situation Report No. 3 (as of 11 November 2025), 13 November 2025, url, p. 2
- 1334
Etana Syria, Brief: Recent developments in south-west Syria, 8 April 2026, url; Syria Direct, Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on, 14 November 2025, url
- 1335
Nair, A., Life Under Israeli Occupation in Syria’s Quneitra, New Lines Magazine, 21 April 2026, url; Syria Direct, Israel’s occupation of southern Syria persists, nearly a year on, 14 November 2025, url
- 1336
Helmi, K., After Assad, a New Uncertainty in Syria’s South, TIMEP, 26 March 2026, url; Enab Baladi, Israeli incursions in Quneitra, southern Syria, put civilians at risk and erode their sense of belonging, 21 October 2025, url
- 1337
OHCHR, Human rights update on Syria, 28 April 2026, url; Etana Syria, Brief: Recent developments in south-west Syria, 8 April 2026, url
- 1338
SARI Global, Southern Syria Under Pressure: Israeli Operations, Civilian Dynamics, and Emerging Risk Trajectories, 2 April 2026, url, p. 10
- 1339
OHCHR, Human rights update on Syria, 28 April 2026, url; Helmi, K., After Assad, a New Uncertainty in Syria’s South, TIMEP, 26 March 2026, url
- 1340
UN DPPA, Gaza ceasefire 'increasingly fragile' as Israeli strikes and armed activities by Hamas and other groups continue, ASG Khiari tells Security Council, 28 April 2026, url; UN Security Council, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. Report of the Secretary-General, S/2025/784, 2 December 2025, url, para. 16
- 1341
OHCHR, Human rights update on Syria, 28 April 2026, url
- 1342
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/62, 12 March 2026, url, Annex I, section III.A, para. 112
- 1343
FDD, Syria’s Crackdown on Hezbollah Opens a Door to Cooperation With Israel, 21 April 2026, url
- 1344
Enab Baladi, Syria’s Interior Ministry Says Hezbollah Cell Foiled in Quneitra, 19 April 2026, url
- 1345
EUAA analysis based on ACLED data. ACLED, Data Export Tool, Syria, data covering 9 December 2024 to 31 May 2026, as of 9 June 2026, url