Journalists in southern Syria are being chased, detained and intimidated by live fire by members of the Israeli Defense Forces, according to reporters who spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The months-long escalation of harassment raises concerns about press freedom and has sometimes forced journalists to play a dangerous game of hide-and-seek to protect their news footage and other material.

In June 2025, two Syrian journalists – Nader Dabo of Syria Monitor and 963media, and Nour Abu Hassan of the Lebanon based outlet Al-Modon – were chased by Israeli soldiers while reporting in Quneitra province, near the Golan Heights, which shares a border with Israel. The pair were documenting the aftermath of Iranian drone-strike debris falling on civilian areas when an IDF patrol intercepted them near the border, they said.

The journalists were chased for more than half an hour by Israeli military vehicles across the mountainous terrain, they said, before their car was stopped by Israeli soldiers. To avoid losing their material, they hid their cameras and other equipment before the patrol reached them.

“They interrogated us in the field and accused us of violating a ‘military zone’ – but we never crossed any border,” Dabo told CPJ. “We were careful to protect the footage. We knew from others that it might be seized or deleted.”

Since the collapse of the Syrian government following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024, Israeli forces have expanded their deployment inside southern Syria. In areas that were once part of a demilitarized buffer zone monitored by the United Nations peacekeeping forces, Israeli patrols and armored units have advanced, citing security threats from Iranian-backed groups. On July 13, 2025, a patrol of four Israeli military vehicles pushed near Al-Mantara dam, the region’s primary water source. Syrian officials have accused Israel of attempting to steal Syria’s water.

Incidents in which the IDF has injured, detained, interrogated, and fired live rounds to intimidate journalists reporting from southern Syria have increased in recent months, according to reporters who spoke to CPJ, One journalist, camera operator Ali Al-Najjar, said he was hit by gunfire in December 2024 when Israeli soldiers shot at protestors in the countryside of Quneitra in southern Syria.

Journalists working in Quneitra governorate told CPJ when that they were obstructed by Israeli patrols inside Syrian territory, with some having their equipment destroyed and others forcibly expelled amid gunfire apparently meant to intimidate.

Both Syrian and foreign reporters said they were accused of entering military zones, even while working in clearly civilian areas in Syria, adding to concerns about press freedom violations in the region.

“They let me go after I promised not to come back,” Dabo said. “Otherwise, I was told I would face prison.”

Israel has conducted frequent airstrikes across Syria, targeting military sites and infrastructure, including Damascus and the western coast. Despite these strikes, recent reports indicate that Israel and Syria have engaged in indirect and direct talks aimed at reducing tensions and exploring a possible non-belligerence agreement.

Syrian journalist Anwar Asfour said he was shot at by Israeli troops on May 20 while reporting in Kudna, a village of 2,000 in the Syrian-controlled area of the Golan Heights. Asfour, a freelance photographer for the Saudi owned Al Arabiya TV channel, was covering the damage to two water wells that residents said resulted from a previous Israeli military operation. The village depends on wells with solar-powered pumps for its water.

Asfour said told CPJ he was wearing a press vest, which would have been clearly identifiable to the drone overhead, “but we were targeted with direct gunfire from a short distance.”

Asfour said he was attempting to highlight the humanitarian toll on civilians because the fighting has prevented repairs to the solar-powered pumps. “People are suffering from a lack of clean water,” he said.

Two other Syrian journalists, Talal Sayyah and Ahmad Al-Kharyoush, who work with Ahrar Horan – a local media collective  – said they were threatened while filming in Kudna during the same month.

“We arrived in response to calls from residents. A local guided us to the damaged water station,” Sayyah told CPJ. “As we began filming interviews, Israeli soldiers… opened fire. We were forced to evacuate the area immediately, leaving the report incomplete.”

Al-Kharyoush said the shots appeared to be a warning, but were clearly meant to intimidate.

Foreign journalists report similar experiences

Other journalists in southern Syria have also reported intimidation and obstruction, going back to late last year. Some were bound, blindfolded and threatened with jail.

A BBC Arabic team led by correspondent Feras Kilani was detained May 9, 2025, at gunpoint by Israeli forces while filming near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria. Despite identifying themselves as journalists, the seven-member crew was surrounded by soldiers, had their equipment confiscated, and were forcibly taken to a checkpoint in Quneitra.

“They pointed their rifles at our heads and ordered us to place the camera on the side of the road,” Kilani told BBC Arabic. He was taken to another room, strip-searched and interrogated about personal matters while the rest of the team was blindfolded, zip-tied, and questioned. Photos and personal data were deleted from their devices by Israelis.

On January 8, 2025, French journalist Sylvain Mercadier, Syrian lawyer Mohammed Fayad, and freelance journalist Youssef Gharibi were detained by Israeli forces in the village of Al-Rafid in Quneitra, while covering the military’s expansion near the occupied Golan Heights. Mercadier told CPJ that after being spotted filming, soldiers demanded he delete his footage and seized his laptop. When Fayad protested, he was immediately arrested.

 “It was as if they were looking for an excuse to escalate,” Mercadier said. When he stepped in to defend Fayad, both men were thrown to the ground, handcuffed, blindfolded, and roughly dragged away. After being held for several hours at a military base, the blindfolded journalists were dumped in a nearby field, without explanation, at least a mile from where they had been taken.

“They didn’t return our SIM cards, memory cards, or some of our camera gear,” Mercadier said.

Israeli authorities later claimed the journalists were too close to military positions, a justification Mercadier dismissed: “We were wearing press jackets and doing our job.”

The abuse of Mercadier and Fayad was confirmed to CPJ by freelancer Gharibi.

“One soldier told Fayad he was wanted because of his work with journalists,” he said.

CPJ didn’t immediately receive a response to an email to the IDF North America Media Desk for comment on cases involving journalists who were reportedly detained, assaulted, or obstructed by Israeli forces while reporting in southern Syria.

To ask what measures have been taken to protect journalists and prevent further violations, CPJ contacted Mohammad Al-Asmar, Syria’s director of government relations at the Ministry of Information. Al-Asmar did not immediately respond.

‘Repression as a tool’ to limit newsgathering

On January 13, 2025, a trio of journalists were obstructed by Israeli forces while reporting near Al-Hamidiyah in southern Syria. The group encountered an Israeli military post inside undisputed Syrian territory.

Barcelona-based freelancer John McAulay, Spanish photojournalist David Melero, and Syrian-Palestinian journalist Luay Al-Basha reported Israeli forces stopped them at gunpoint.

“We were pressured to delete our material in front of armed soldiers,” McAulay told CPJ.

The journalists, fearing possible violence, pretended to comply. McAulay noted the tension, especially after hearing that another journalist had recently been detained and assaulted for similar coverage.

On December 25, 2024, Najjar, a camera operator for the Saudi owned Al Arabiya and Al-Hadath TV channels, was injured by Israeli gunfire, while covering the Israeli incursion into the countryside of Quneitra in southern Syria.

Al-Najjar told CPJ that he was reporting on local protests in the village of Al-Sweisa against the Israeli military’s presence in the area when Israeli soldiers opened fire directly at the demonstrators, wounding him and seven other civilians. He received treatment at a nearby hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg.

Mohammed Al-Sattof, who heads the monitoring unit of the Syrian Journalists Association, told CPJ the recent surge in such incidents is a pattern.

“The number of violations by Israeli forces in southern Syria are increasing systematically, and the evidence suggests it is deliberate,” Al-Sattof said. “This shows that, despite the political shift, Israel still uses repression as a tool to influence media freedom and prevent access to information for the public, international opinion and institutions.”