Nationwide rallies erupt after Israeli strike kills Moaz

Syrians took to the streets in Damascus, Homs, and Daraa on Friday to protest expanding Israeli military activity in the country's south. The demonstrations followed a strike earlier in the week that killed a man with a disability.

State media reported that crowds gathered in the capital and in central Syria to condemn attacks in the Quneitra and Daraa provinces. In Daraa, an AFP correspondent observed hundreds of attendees, some waving national flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a local demonstrator, told the agency that the crowd aimed to 'send a message to the world' that Syria stands united 'against Israeli incursions and against anyone who is tempted to tamper. with national security'.

Footage from state television showed marchers holding posters with the slogan 'We are all Moaz.' The phrase references the man with special needs whom Syrian authorities say was killed by Israeli fire a day before the rallies during an incursion in Daraa province.

Outside a United Nations building in Damascus, the family of a Syrian man detained by Israeli forces called for his release. Children in the crowd held up signs reading 'I want my dad.'

State media reported on Friday that Israeli forces moved into part of Quneitra province, blocking several roads. Troops bulldozed olive groves, established checkpoints, and detained residents in the area.

Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes and frequent incursions since the new government took power in December 2024. Israeli troops also entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated forces in the Golan Heights since 1974. Israeli officials have vowed to maintain a presence in a designated security zone in southern Syria while seeking a larger demilitarized area.