On Tuesday, Israel launched deadly strikes on the town of Koya in Syria’s Daraa province, killing at least five people.
Ever since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israeli strikes and incursions into Syria have been a frequent occurrence, but these latest strikes were notable for their death toll – some reports said seven people were killed, and the wave of displacement they caused, with hundreds of people fleeing their homes as a result.
In addition, Israeli troops faced armed resistance from local people in a rare occurrence. Following the Assad regime’s fall, Israel has exploited the inability of Syria’s new authorities to face them militarily to seize Syrian territory near the border with the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967.
Who resisted the Israeli attack?
Local residents said people from the town, some of them armed with light weapons, tried to stop Israeli forces from advancing.
A 25-year-old man from Koya, who asked for his name to be withheld, told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that when local residents saw Israeli military vehicles approaching the valley of Koya, “we young people came out to stop them approaching their houses”.
"We only had individual weapons, sticks and our will, but they opened fire on us without mercy."
He said at least one person was killed by this initial Israeli fire.
"The Israeli patrol withdrew to their barracks in Tal Al-Ahmar and they gave the inhabitants two hours to leave, then started with artillery shelling. People ran away, in fear for their children."
Asim Al-Zubi, a member of the Free People of Houran media activist group told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there were no elements from any organised movement in the town – no groups affiliated to the current interim government, or to the former Assad regime’s allies Hezbollah and Iran.
He emphasised that the clashes only took place between local people and the Israeli army.
However, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar reported that a group called the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, also known as Uli al-Baas, had claimed responsibility.
The group is believed to be affiliated to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a key ally of the Assad regime during Syria’s 14-year civil war.
A source from the group reportedly told Al-Nahar that "some of those who engaged in the clashes and some of those killed were members of the Front".
The statement named four of those killed as members of Uli Al-Baas but there was no independent confirmation of this and The New Arab cannot independently verify these claims.
Strategic location
Koya is strategically located in the far southwest of Daraa province, in the Yarmouk valley area, adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights and also close to the border with Jordan.
This has brought it unwelcome attention from the Israeli army, who say they want to clear it of weapons.
Israel has earlier demanded that the whole of southern Syria be demilitarized, threatening Syria’s interim authorities with further attacks if they do not comply.
Koya is also close to the village on Seriyat Al-Jazeera, which is occupied by Israeli troops.
"Israeli forces are trying to make this area totally demilitarised. Koya, as well as [the villages of] Saysun and Jumlah overlooks the Yarmouk Valley and the Occupied Golan Heights," Al-Zubi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Daraa’s provincial government condemned the Israeli attack, as did the Syrian foreign ministry.
Zubi called on provincial authorities to provide shelter to displaced residents of the town, and said that Israel would not even allow people to possess individuals weapons in the area. Residents said that there were no doctors in the town and injured people were not being provided with medical aid.
The town is home to tribes and families who rely on agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihood. The nearby Yarmouk Valley is also very fertile.
It had a population of 2,025 in 2004 and was affected by the Syrian conflict. Unlike in other towns in Daraa province however, it was never infiltrated by the Islamic State militant group during the civil war.
It is believed that the town's strategic location, along with the tribal nature of its population, which opposed the group, were key factors preventing ISIS from entering.
Zubi also said that the international community should work to stop the Israeli attacks and prevent a wider war breaking out.
"We hope that the international community will play a role in curbing Israel and preventing these incursions, as they could, at some stage, lead to a new popular explosion in the region, one that is completely different from the revolution against the Assad regime," he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.