The central countryside of Quneitra in southern Syria is witnessing a new humanitarian disaster, affecting the residents of Al-Hamidiyah village, who suddenly found themselves without homes or land after being forcibly removed, as their village was turned into a closed military base. This step deprived them of their most basic rights: shelter, stability, and the ability to live with dignity on the land and among the property they had inherited for generations.
Deprivation of Housing and Land
Residents of the village told +963 that “Israeli forces carried out repeated military operations in recent times, forcibly displacing residents and preventing them from returning even to repair their homes or reclaim their agricultural lands, which were their sole source of income.”
The fields and orchards were the backbone of life in Al-Hamidiyah. Any attempt to approach the village was met with military force, including weapons and patrols, worsening the suffering and scattering families across nearby towns and villages, without any alternative shelter provided.
The displaced explained that the tragedy went beyond the loss of their homes, extending to major economic losses, as agricultural lands were the source of their daily income. Losing these lands meant losing farming, production, and seasonal yields, effectively erasing their livelihoods.
They also expressed fear that the area might be permanently converted into a military garrison, preventing any hope of return in the future, and signaling a deliberate policy of demographic change in Quneitra countryside.
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Promises from UNDOF Unfulfilled
A delegation from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) visited the area, collecting surveys from affected families and promising to study their situation and provide urgent compensation or humanitarian aid.
However, residents expressed concern that these promises would remain empty, emphasizing that their daily suffering cannot wait. They live without shelter, land, or a source of income.
Repeated appeals have been made to human rights and humanitarian organizations, calling for urgent intervention to stop what they describe as a systematic violation against civilians and to allow them to return to their homes. They stressed that their suffering would intensify with the approaching winter in the absence of aid or alternative solutions.
“What is happening in Al-Hamidiyah is a new indication of the scale of the tragedy faced by civilians in the border area, where military presence dominates daily life and innocent people pay a high price,” they said.
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First-Hand Accounts
Eid Abu Ashraf, one of the affected residents, told +963: “On the night of the regime’s fall, we heard Israeli tanks in large numbers. By 2 a.m., Israeli forces entered the village and ordered residents to evacuate immediately as it was declared a military zone. Families left with only the clothes on their backs. After months, Israeli bulldozers destroyed all fifteen homes surrounding the military base, including our furniture, without allowing us to remove anything.”
He added that he sought shelter with his partially damaged home, repaired with help from relatives abroad, but now faces the risk of displacement again as his wife’s sister returns from Germany.
Abu Ibrahim, another resident, said: “On the morning of December 8, 2024, Israeli tanks entered the village and forced residents out with only their clothing. Some went to Damascus, Khan Arnabah, or nearby villages. I stayed with my family in a partially damaged house. I lost over fifty thousand dollars, which I had saved from years of work in Lebanon to buy land and build a house that the occupation quickly destroyed.”
He noted that the UNDOF delegation had promised compensation for homes and destroyed lands, but nothing has been realized, leaving his family living in two cramped rooms under dire conditions.
Dr. Eng. Arsan Arsan, a Quneitra native assisting residents in filing complaints, told +963: “People have stopped trying to rebuild homes or construct new ones because they know the occupation will demolish them again. The suffering is not limited to losing homes; they face financial burdens beyond their means, paying high rents and being deprived of agricultural lands, which were their only source of livelihood. All they have now are promises, with no practical action on the ground.”
He confirmed that all affected residents’ names and property documents have been submitted to UNDOF and that formal complaints have been filed with the Quneitra Public Prosecutor. Nevertheless, the situation remains complex, with almost daily Israeli incursions.
