UNDOF Bolsters Patrols in Quneitra After Teen Killed; Villages Isolated

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) deployed personnel near Rafid, Suwaysah and Sida Golan on April 9 and has intensified patrols and temporary nighttime observation posts along the ceasefire line in southern Quneitra. The buildup follows repeated calls from residents for protection after a rise in Israeli incursions, arrests and violations in the buffer zone. UNDOF officials visited the site of the April 3 killing, conducted a field assessment and gathered local testimony after a 17‑year‑old, identified as Osama al‑Fahd, was reportedly hit by a shell in Rasem al‑Za’aroura while inside a car. UN observers reported seeing an Israel Defense Forces tank on the Alpha side fire two rounds across the line, launched an investigation and said they had contacted both sides, urging restraint and a halt to actions that breach the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

Local residents told Enab Baladi that Israeli operations in the Quneitra countryside continue, including search operations, raids, arrests and the erection of earth berms that have closed key roads and isolated villages. Among roads reported blocked are the link between al‑Asbah and Kudna, the Ruwayhina road to farmland west of the village, and the Umm al‑Azam al‑Shouli road. UNDOF says its engagement with communities aims to enhance transparency and trust as part of peacebuilding, while stressing that civilians must never be targeted, as reported by Enab Baladi