Syria is at the center of escalating tensions, facing both military incursions and a growing humanitarian crisis. The Israeli army intercepted two drones approaching from Syria, following a deadly Hezbollah drone attack, marking a deepening of the conflict on Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon. At the same time, thousands of Syrian refugees are returning home monthly from Turkey, with Turkey tightening its registration requirements for refugees and stopping a new migration wave from Syria. Meanwhile, inside Syria, a humanitarian funding shortfall threatens essential mental health care for millions displaced in the war-torn northwest, while UNRWA struggles to support displaced Palestinian refugees fleeing from Lebanon into Syria. Adding to this complex situation, Israel’s recent military movements in Syria’s Quneitra province have sparked concerns of further territorial annexation, raising alarm over broader regional conflict dynamics.
Israeli Army Says Intercepts Two Drones Approaching From Syria
AFP reported that The Israeli military said it intercepted two drones approaching from Syria on Monday, a day after a drone attack by Lebanon’s Hezbollah on a base killed four soldiers.
“A short while ago, two UAVs that approached Israeli territory from Syria were successfully intercepted by the IAF (air force). The UAVs were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
Israel is fighting a war on two fronts, one on its northern border with Lebanon, the other with Hamas in Gaza, while it also faces attacks from Iran-backed militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Earlier on Monday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq — a loose alliance of armed groups backed by Iran — said it had fired drones at Israel in two separate attacks.
“The Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked at dawn… a vital target in the Jordan Valley in our occupied lands, using drones,” the group said in a statement before later announcing a second salvo.
Humanitarian funding shortfall threatens essential mental health care access in Syria
“At the end of a suicide awareness session, my patients told me, ‘We love life if we find a way to it,’ quoting the renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish,” says Rumeysa Seyh, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mental health activity manager in northwest Syria. “People have a deep attachment to life, even in the face of so much suffering.”
After more than 13 years of war, displacement, and ongoing humanitarian crises, a widespread mental health crisis is affecting countless people in northwest Syria. MSF is combining psychological support with medical services, making sure that both physical and mental health are treated together. Our teams run eight mobile clinics in displacement camps, and non-communicable diseases clinics at two primary health care centers. These mobile clinics also provide mental health support.
In 2024, MSF teams provided mental health services to more than 12,000 people in consultations and more than 69,000 patients attended mental health group sessions.
A view of displacement camps in northwestern Syria.
More than 4 million people in northwest Syria are living in dire conditions, and 3.5 million are internally displaced. In addition to living in worn-out tents for years, parents struggle to find food for their children, health care is difficult to reach, and shelter is a luxury.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression are widespread among conflict-affected and displaced people. Ongoing violence, loss of loved ones, poor living conditions, multiple displacements, and disruption of daily life have had severe psychological impacts, with PTSD manifesting through flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety.
The impact of the earthquakes of February 2023, and another that hit in August this year, has only compounded the psychological toll on people in northwest Syria. As a result, suicide rates are rising in the region. Since the beginning of 2024, Syrian response coordinators have recorded 37 deaths by suicide, including 21 failed attempts, representing a 14 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Women constitute 63 percent of our patients and the most reported stressors by patients include daily living conditions, violence and family related problems.
Is Syria next in Israel’s crosshairs after Quneitra incursion?
Israel has escalated its presence in Syria’s Quneitra province by invading and bulldozing farmland near the town of Kodna, following the withdrawal of Russian monitoring forces in the area, The New Arab reported.
This move has raised concerns that Israel is attempting to annex additional Syrian territory in the strategically significant Golan Heights, which it has illegally occupied since 1967.
According to local sources, Israeli bulldozers levelled 1,000 by 500 meters of farmland, including olive groves, and fenced it off with barbed wire. The Syrian regime has denied these reports, dismissing them as “psychological warfare.” However, activists and observers link these actions to Israel’s “Sufa 53” road project, which began in 2022 and extends up to 2 kilometers into Syrian territory. The road is part of a broader security infrastructure aimed at preventing militant infiltration along the border.
The recent incursions are notable for their permanence. Unlike past Israeli operations, where forces would withdraw after bulldozing, this time the area has been annexed and integrated into Israeli-controlled territory. Israeli forces have fortified their position in the Golan Heights, further entrenching their control with military outposts, watchtowers, and settlements.
Experts believe that this latest Israeli invasion is part of a larger strategy to secure its northern border, particularly following the October 7 attack in 2023, which heightened Israeli security concerns. The “Sufa 53” road and the broader incursions are seen as necessary for creating a secure buffer zone, preventing infiltration by Hezbollah and other groups, and opening potential routes for Israeli forces into Lebanon.
Military analysts suggest that Israel’s actions in southern Syria serve multiple purposes. It showcases Israel’s military capabilities to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, while potentially opening corridors for further military operations. Some speculate that these actions are coordinated with Russia and the U.S., given previous agreements to secure Israel’s safety in southern Syria.
The broader context of Israel’s invasion into Quneitra ties into ongoing regional conflicts, including its war with Hamas in Gaza and its confrontations with Hezbollah. Military experts suggest that Israel is establishing a security belt to block Iranian militias and Hezbollah from critical supply lines, a move that could severely weaken Iranian influence in the region.
Despite the Syrian regime’s denials and its weakened military presence in the south, Israel’s incursions into Quneitra, and potentially other parts of southern Syria, are seen as part of its broader efforts to ensure security and territorial control in the Golan Heights and beyond.
Thousands of Syrians return home monthly from Turkey
The number of Syrian refugees who took shelter in Turkey after the unrest broke out in their homeland more than a decade ago constantly drops as nearly 11,000 people return home monthly while others cross into Europe
The Interior Ministry’s “address update” for those in temporary protection status revealed, according to Daily Sabah, that more people are returning from Turkey to Syria, where the unrest began in 2011 and displaced millions. The ministry staff went door-to-door to check up on Syrian refugees registered with authorities and prepared statistics on the up-to-date number of refugees. Figures show around 11,000 Syrian nationals go back to Syria monthly, while about 219,000 others are believed to have left for Europe overall.
Turkey still hosts more than 3 million Syrian refugees, one of the largest in the world. As part of the address update work, authorities discovered 731,000 Syrian nationals were not residing in the addresses they originally registered and were given a deadline to update their location. Two hundred forty-two thousand among them updated their addresses, while 196,000 others set appointments for updates. Some 291,000 others have not applied for an appointment yet, while the deadline for the update will expire at the end of October. The Interior Ministry also coordinates the work with other ministries to check whether previously registered refugees have recently accessed education or health care services. Those who have not applied for the update will be excluded from public services.
Authorities believe those not applying for updates and not found in their registered addresses likely left for other countries, particularly in Europe, illegally. Official data shows that the number of Syrians in Turkey, as well as childbirths among refugees, are gradually declining and expected to decrease more.
In August, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that Turkey stopped a migration wave from its southern neighbor Syria. “Seven million people live now in the secure zone we formed in Syria to prevent migration and against terrorism. (People) no longer cross into Turkey. We stopped migration at its source,” he said in an interview with the Sabah newspaper last August.
UNRWA Syria Response to the Influx of Palestine Refugees from Lebanon – Situation Report (October 14, 2024)
As of October 13, 2024, approximately 2,400 displaced Palestine refugees from Lebanon, making up 481 families, have approached UNRWA Syria for assistance. The overall number of people displaced from Lebanon is estimated at 264,000. UNRWA has been conducting home visits and interviews to assess the immediate needs of these refugees, with findings showing that:
– 98% are in urgent need of non-food items (mattresses, blankets, clothing, etc.).
– 98% need food.
– 91% require hygiene supplies.
– 79% need clothing.
– 36% need items for babies.
While Syrian immigration authorities continue to admit displaced individuals, Lebanese immigration has resumed an Exit Stamping Protocol, which may slow the processing of those fleeing Lebanon. Eight Israeli attacks on Syrian-Lebanese border crossings have been recorded, further complicating access to Syrian territory. Following Israeli airstrikes near the Masnaa border crossing, a drone strike destroyed an informal bridge at the Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali crossing on October 12.
Funding Challenges:
UNRWA’s flash appeal for the influx from Lebanon has yet to receive any funding. The agency is reallocating emergency appeal funds but warns that the support offered will be insufficient to meet all the needs of the displaced population.
Quote from Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General:
“The expansion of the war into Lebanon is wreaking havoc on civilians, many forced to relive traumas of the past.”
UNRWA’s continued efforts face significant challenges due to the escalating conflict and the lack of sufficient funding to address the critical needs of displaced Palestine Refugees in Syria.