At dawn on February 16, 2026, an Israeli patrol stormed the home of the family of two brothers—Ali (born in 2007) and Hamza (born in 2006)—in the village of Ghadir al-Bustan in the Quneitra countryside. The boys’ mother, who lost her husband about 10 years ago, said a police dog lunged at her and dragged her more than two meters, then attacked one of her sons and dragged him more than four meters; soldiers tied the other brother’s hands and brutally beat him. For about three months, the woman went to the hospital for rabies vaccinations and anti-inflammatory medication. The scars on her arms and face are still visible, and she and her 13-year-old daughter no longer dare sleep at home at night.
These accounts are just one episode in a broader pattern. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented at least 49 Syrians held in Israeli prisons; the Sijil Center reports 257 people detained by occupation forces in southern Syria after December 8, 2024, of whom 34 remain in custody. They include five Syrians detained before the fall of the Assad regime—bringing the total, according to figures as of October 1, to 39 people missing in Israeli prisons. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has also recorded at least 69 people killed by the actions of occupation forces on Syrian territory and approximately 453 ground raids—primarily in Quneitra and Daraa, and less frequently around Damascus—from the fall of the Assad regime until October 6.
The disappearance of Shadi Zaina (born in 2008) from the town of Kanakir in the Damascus area is a separate story. He was abducted in July 2025; phone data showed that the last signal came from the Ruwayhina Dam in the Quneitra countryside, but his family received no information. For nearly four months, his relatives searched hospitals and police stations until one released detainee said that Shadi had been held with them in prison. Meanwhile, some people exploited the family’s fear, attempting to extort money through false promises and AI-generated images. “For four months, I lived in search and fear, not knowing where my son was or what had happened to him,” his mother says. She dreams of hearing his voice and confirming that he is alive; to her, “Shadi is not a number, but a son and a part of my heart.”
Similar anxiety surrounds the fate of twins Muhammad and Mahmoud Mraiwed (born in 2008), who lost their father and six uncles in Sednaya Prison. On September 17, 2025, an Israeli patrol stormed their grandfather’s home and threatened to take him and the twins’ younger brother unless the twins turned themselves in. This brought to the fore the issue of recruiting informants, which was reported on by Haaretz. The twins’ mother says what hurts her most is the thought: “Throughout the years of the revolution, I tried to protect them by every means, and in the end Israel came and took them.” She waits for Wednesday as if it were a verdict, because the occupation forces have made a practice of transferring detainees and releasing some of them before sunset; she says that arresting breadwinners on Monday or Tuesday and releasing them on Wednesday creates the appearance that people are being returned—but her sons never appeared.
Lawyer Ahmed al-Musa believes that such cases fully meet the definition of enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This involves depriving Syrian citizens of their liberty through nighttime raids and incursions from the occupied Golan Heights, concealing their place of detention, refusing to disclose the detainees’ fate, blocking communication with their families and applying exceptional laws. According to testimony documented by Haaretz and the Sijil Center, many are beaten immediately upon arrival and subjected to continuous interrogations about the smallest details of their lives. Conditions include a lack of heating in winter, insufficient food, daily searches and being kept bound hand and foot around the clock during the war with Iran—with the exception of mealtimes—on the pretext of preventing escape if a missile strikes the prison.
Israel holds some detainees in “administrative detention” or under the classification of “unlawful combatant.” They have repeatedly been accused of belonging to the Quds Force, Hezbollah or Hamas, as well as of possessing and trafficking weapons; the reasons for holding others remain undisclosed. Against this backdrop, relatives are demanding that the Syrian government assume responsibility for the detainees’ fate, handle their cases and seek their release through a clear and transparent process, regularly informing families of developments and of anything known about their loved ones’ whereabouts.
“If our children did something wrong, we have a state, and our state will punish them. Why is Israel taking them?” asks the twins’ mother. She asks only that they be allowed to make a phone call: “I just want to know that they are all right and hear that they are alive.” For many families in Syria, this request has become the basic measure of humanity—not grand statements, but a phone call, confirmation of their health and at least some certainty instead of months of silence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, for its part, says that since October 2023 its teams have been unable to enter Israeli detention facilities or visit detainees, including Syrians. Suheir Zakout, the ICRC’s information and communications coordinator in Syria, told Syria al-Aan that the committee continues to engage in dialogue with the Israeli authorities on resuming visits. Until access is restored, families remain in anxious suspense: without precise answers, without meetings and without certainty that their loved ones are alive and well.
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What is Quneitra as a special border area of Syria, and why have raids and detentions there increased since 2024 amid the 1974 disengagement agreement and the occupation of the Golan Heights? — Quneitra is a governorate and city in southwestern Syria near the ceasefire line with Israel. The Golan Heights were occupied by Israel in 1967, while the 1974 agreement created a buffer disengagement zone monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Israel expanded operations in the buffer zone and the Quneitra area, citing a security vacuum and threats from armed groups. This led to an increase in raids, detentions and destruction, undermining the 1974 agreement and heightening local families’ fears.
What is Sednaya Prison, and why has the mention of relatives dying there become a symbol of past repression for Syrian families while also intensifying fears of new disappearances? — Sednaya is a notorious military prison near Damascus that became a symbol of mass arrests, torture, executions and enforced disappearances under Assad. The mention of a relative dying there confirms for families the scale of the earlier repression, but after 2024 it has also raised fears of new disappearances: the archives and the fates of detainees remain unclear, while detentions by various armed and foreign forces create the same uncertainty.
What do “administrative detention” and “unlawful combatant” status mean in Israeli legal practice, and why do these categories make it especially difficult for families to obtain information about detainees? — Administrative detention allows a person to be held without charge or trial on the basis of secret material, with the possibility of extending the detention. Under a 2002 law, “unlawful combatant” status allows people suspected of hostile activity to be detained outside the criminal process and without prisoner-of-war status. The secrecy of the evidence, military courts and limited access for lawyers make it difficult for families to obtain information about detainees’ whereabouts, condition and detention terms.
What do the Sijil Center and the Syrian Network for Human Rights do, and why does their documentation of detentions and raids remain one of the few sources of information for families? — These are human rights organizations that document detentions, disappearances, raids and other violations, collect testimony, maintain databases and publish reports. Their materials remain one of the few sources available to families because official records are closed or destroyed, access to detention sites is restricted and relatives fear reprisals.
Full version: Raids, Police Dogs and Mysterious Detention: The Circumstances of Israel’s Abduction of Syrians