Spanish journalists David Milliron and Luay Al-Basha confirmed that Israeli incursions into southern Syria, which began after the country's liberation on December 8, 2024, were followed by restrictions on residents' movement and a siege on several towns. This negatively impacted their daily lives and their ability to access schools and basic services, based on field observations and testimonies they gathered while covering developments in the region.
The journalists explained in a statement to SANA that they traveled to Syria to document the political and social changes following the fall of the ousted regime. They noted that they observed an expansion of the Israeli military presence in the area and faced attempts by Israeli soldiers to force them to delete photos and video clips they had documented during their field coverage.
Milliron stated that they managed, with the help of a local resident, to reach a village where residents were struggling to leave. He pointed out that movement restrictions prevented children from attending school and residents from reaching their workplaces, while also hindering the provision of food, water, and transportation. Milliron spoke of witnessing gunfire directed at residential buildings, where residents showed them bullet marks on the walls and roofs.
For his part, Al-Basha explained that they traveled to the Khan Arnaba area to document developments following the fall of the ousted regime. They witnessed an Israeli tank aiming at the town before moving to Al-Hamidiya, where they noticed residents using side roads to access basic services and supplies. Al-Basha added that they documented a scene of Israeli soldiers treating elderly residents in a humiliating manner, noting that locals told them they were unable to celebrate Syria's liberation after finding themselves under a cordon imposed by Israeli forces.
Al-Basha noted that residents spoke of raids and the displacement of some, as well as individuals being beaten. President Ahmed al-Sharaa had previously emphasized in his speech before the UN General Assembly on September 23 that Israel launched approximately 500 air and artillery strikes against Syria, carried out more than 1,200 incursions, and detained or held nearly 300 Syrians, threatening the country's stability and contradicting the international community's stance.
Foreign Minister and Expatriates Affairs Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaybani also pointed out, in a speech yesterday during a session on regional security pillars at the 22nd edition of the 2026 Manama Dialogue, that the state-building process faces existential challenges in southern Syria. He noted that Syrian lands have been subjected to more than a thousand Israeli attacks in less than two years, claiming dozens of lives.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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