Several photos and videos sent to the FRANCE 24 Observers team showIsraeliplanes flying at a low altitude over agricultural zones in the governorate of Quneitra in southernSyria.
In some of the footage, a white trail appears behind the planes, which is likely indicative of chemicals being sprayed. Moreover, farmers in several villages in the Quneitra governorate say that Israeli planes sprayed chemical substances on their land on January 25, 27 and 30, 2026. These operations took placeall along the Alpha line, which marks the border between Syria and the Israeli-occupiedGolan Heights.
SyriasMinistry of Agriculture reportedon February 11 that tests carried out in Quneitra didnt show acute levels of toxicity, but did not specify what chemicals had been sprayed on the land.
Israeli TV channeli24News reportedon February 2 that theIsraeli army was spraying herbicideson farmland "in areas near the Syrian and Lebanese borders so as to kill vegetation that terrorists could hide in. The Israeli army did not respond to the questions that our team put to them.
An accord signed in 1974 between Tel Aviv andDamascusestablished a demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan region which would be monitored by the United Nations. However, afterthe regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assadfell on December 8, 2024, the Israeli army built eleven military bases inside this zone or within Syrian territory. One of these bases is located on Mount Hermon, a key strategic location that offers the possibility to surveil the entire region. Residents of this rural region especially those living near the villages of Kodna and Al-Razaniyeh, both located in Quneitra have reported that the Israeli army has been carrying out these chemical spraying operations as well as forest clearing.
Ten days after the planes flew over, everything was yellow, and then everything died
Abu Salah (whose name has been changed to protect his anonymity) is a farmer who lives in Al-Razaniyeh in Quneitra.
The vegetation cover around Kodna became notably less healthy beginning in early 2025
Our team contacted Quneitras director of agriculture, Jamal Mohammad Ali, who said that Israeli planes sprayed the entire area along the border, from the north to the south. Ali said that technical teams were dispatched to the affected areas totake samples. The results have not yet been made public, but Ali told our team that they found general herbicides, diuron and 2,4-DB.
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Ali told our team thatthe crops that were sprayed turned yellow,then dried up completely and died. In some plots, the effects continue to spread. Local authorities estimate that around 400 hectares of grain and 4,000 hectares of pasture land vital for grazing livestockwere affected. All of this threatens the livelihoods and even survival of local farmers.
The Israeli army also carried out spraying operations near the village of Kodna. Using satellite images posted on X by the online investigative accountSamir, we compared the evolution of the zone targeted since 2022. In the images, which were captured using infrared, the red areas indicate thick vegetation. Its clear that by 2026, there was a lot less vegetation.
Our team spoke to He Yin, a satellite image specialist at Kent State University, who analysed these images:
This land was covered with trees, they cut it all down
Hassan (whose name has been changed for this article) grew crops in the affected zone.
Hassan also documented the razing of trees in the forest of Kodna, located to the west of his village.
Israeli authorities have not made any public statements about their aims, making it impossible to establish with certainty their strategy.
In Lebanon, local officials have interpreted similar incidents as part of a broader security context tied to tensions with Hezbollah. This border region is frequently the site of Israeli military operations targeting the Shiite group.Two ministriesreported that tests revealed the use of a high concentration of herbicides that posed both health and environmental risks.
Accusations against settlers in the West Bank
Reports of similar spraying activity have also come from theWest Bank. Farmers in the Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron, reported that settlers sprayed chemicals on their crops in early February 2026.
Hussein Shanarans fields were attacked by settlers:
He says that he filed a complaint.
This article has been translated fromthe original in Frenchby Brenna Daldorph.
Originally published on France24
