Israeli troops continued to operate across southwest Syria over the weekend, with multiple incursions reported against the Quneitra Governorate seemingly focused primarily on excavation and carving out the “Sufa 53 Line” that the IDF is imposing on the ground in the area.
Israel has been keen on establishing a trench-line separating Syria from its own occupied portions of Syria, and since the invasion in late 2024 has been back on the path of digging such trenches and establishing military observation posts inside Syria along that line. In addition to carving a line in the middle of Syria, this has also served to bar many Syrian farmers and other agriculture workers from their land, which at times ends up partially or wholly on the opposite side of the line.
Jbata al-Khashab has been a hotspot for such activities recently, with the rather conspicuous forest around the town a particular inconvenience for the trench line, and Israel has been actively bulldozing substantial parts of the forest to try to create a different reality on the ground.
Israeli artillery fires on fields in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate | Image from SOHR
Clearing farmland and forests militarily is taking quite some time, and while Israel is actively doing that, the IDF also continues to try to keep the locals from traversing what will ultimately be the boundary line. This has included regular checkpoints and summary detentions. Over the weekend, for instance, three shepherds were captured while grazing their animals around the outskirts of Jbata al-Khashab.
As is often the case, details are scant regarding why the IDF captured the shepherds in the first place, and what their fate is after their detention. Many are released within a few hours or a few days, though some are held for months or even years.
The IDF is known to be holding at least 49 people in long-term detention, though they have yet to publicly confirm who they are, why they are being held, or on what basis. The detentions don’t appear to have any legal basis, and those released, even after over a year in custody, were never charged with any crimes.
