A man with Down syndrome killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria, residents say

JAMLA, Syria (AP) — A developmentally disabled man was killed by Israeli forces during a raid on a village in southern Syria’s Daraa province, state media and residents said Thursday.

The man, Muath Salama al-Baeer, was buried in the village of Jamla later Thursday as anger rose over Israeli incursions in the area.

State news agency SANA reported that a “civilian with special needs” was killed during an Israeli incursion into Jamla. It did not give more details about how he was killed.

The Israeli military said in a statement that soldiers had “identified a suspect approaching them and carried out a suspect apprehension procedure” during an overnight operation.

“The suspect continued to approach the soldiers, who responded by firing toward him in order to remove the threat,” it said, adding that the incident is under review.

After the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024, Israeli forces seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and have occupied it since.

Israeli officials initially described their presence as temporary but have since said they intend to remain in southern Syria indefinitely to protect Israel's borders. Syrian officials regularly call for Israel’s withdrawal but have not responded militarily.

Jamla is not inside the Israeli-occupied zone, but Israeli forces often make incursions into areas outside the zone.

Residents of the village said al-Baeer had Down syndrome and that his parents were dead and he lived with his sisters. They said he was unarmed when he was killed.

Israeli forces "enter people’s houses at midnight and at 3 o’clock in the morning without permission,” said Jamla resident Adnan al-Masri. “This martyr today has special needs. He was not a military man, did not have a weapon and was not resisting them. Why was he killed?”

Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the killing of al-Baeer and called for the “international community to assume its responsibilities in putting an end to the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory and to compel the occupation authorities to respect the rules of international law.”

Tarek al-Khalil, a lawyer and activist from Daraa, called on Syrian authorities to file cases against Israel before international courts. Others advocated for more drastic measures.

Al-Masri called on Syrian authorities to “protect our country and give us weapons” to confront Israeli forces.

Syrian authorities have given no indication that they plan to do so, but clashes have periodically broken out between armed villagers and Israeli troops.