U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack was asked at a security forum in Qatar on October 20 whether Washington should press Israel to halt its military operations in Syria. He replied, “It’s time to stop it,” though he expressed uncertainty about whether the United States should intervene. The following day, Barrack met Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the People’s Palace in Damascus.
Between October 22 and 23, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units entered al-Hurriya in Quneitra province and searched homes. They also demolished an abandoned house near al-Hamidiyah, shelled areas around the village and the Bir Ajam woodland, and arrested a shepherd near Hadar. Other Israeli forces, accompanied by a bulldozer and several military vehicles, advanced west of al-Zaroura farm and closed several roads.
In neighboring Daraa province, Israeli troops shot and killed Muath Salama Al-Baeer, a man with Down syndrome, during an overnight raid on the village of Jamla on October 22. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Israeli forces entered the village’s eastern neighborhood and deployed snipers on residential rooftops. Residents told the Associated Press that Al-Baeer was unarmed when he was shot.
