UN Security Council renews UNDOF mission in Golan until the end of 2026
On Thursday evening, June 25, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 2824 to renew the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the occupied Syrian Golan (UNDOF) for an additional 6 months, to continue its tasks until December 31, 2026 in monitoring the ceasefire and supervising the separation zone.
The extension came amid a UN emphasis on the need to maintain stability in one of the most sensitive regions in the Middle East, while stressing that the force will continue to play its supervisory role in accordance with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
The UN resolution stressed the need to provide adequate resources to the international force, requesting the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to ensure that UNDOF is provided with the technical, financial and logistical capabilities that enable it to safely carry out its mandate, in light of the increasing security challenges in the vicinity of the Golan.
UNDOF reports monitor worrying field movements
UNDOF reports and recent movements in the countryside of Quneitra and Daraa have documented a dramatic rise in Israeli violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, amid growing indications that the Israeli military is seeking to impose an "undeclared buffer zone" inside Syrian territory.
Local sources told "Syrian News" that during the month of June, UNDUF forces intensified their patrols in the western countryside of Daraa, where they carried out emergency tours in Abdeen and Ma'riya, and met with residents to document their testimonies about the Israeli incursions into agricultural lands.
In the countryside of Quneitra, the UN force increased the pace of its armored deployment in Sidon, Golan, Rafid, Naba' al-Sakhr and al-Asha, to monitor the contact lines and monitor military movements.
The UN and local data revealed a clear escalation on the ground, the most prominent features of which are the establishment of fortifications, prefabricated rooms and a shower with a depth of up to 300 meters inside Syrian territory, in addition to the incursion of an Israeli unit in the area of Al-Ardeh and Abdeen orchards, where temporary checkpoints were erected between olive trees, in addition to recording bulldozers and artillery shelling near Kodna, Tal al-Ahmar al-Sharqi and Al-Rafid, in addition to targeting the vicinity of the town of Jamla in the Yarmouk Basin, in moves aimed at intimidating the population and strengthening control over the border areas.
UNDOF receives lists of names of detainees
On Friday, June 19, UNDOF received an official file to the UNDOF Forces Command at its headquarters in the Spring of Fawar area, which includes documented lists of 47 detainees abducted by Israeli forces during their repeated ground incursions into border villages since late 2024.
The handover of the file came during a large protest by the families in front of the headquarters of the international force in the Al-Fawwar spring in Quneitra, andthe list included the names of the detainees and the dates of their detention, including women, children and sheep herders who were taken from inside Syrian territory to detention centers in the occupied Golan and inside Israel.
UNDOF officials pledged to the protesters to submit the lists directly to the UN Secretary-General, and to work through diplomatic channels to pressure the occupation authorities to allow humanitarian organizations, especially the International Red Cross, to visit the detainees and check on their health conditions.
UNDOF is working to secure farmers' access to their lands during the harvest season, through field arrangements that reduce the risk of being targeted by bullets or smoke bombs, after meetings with farmers' representatives in and around Rafid.
While these moves give residents some reassurance, local officials assert that UNDOF's monitoring mandate limits its ability to stop Israeli incursions completely.
What is the power of Andof?
One of the oldest peacekeeping missions in the world, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is an international force deployed in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to monitor the implementation of the Syria-Israel Disengagement Agreement.
The force was established by Resolution 350 issued on May 31, 1974, following the signing of the disengagement agreement after the October War, with the aim of separating the Syrian and Israeli armies and preventing any breach of the ceasefire. Its primary tasks are to monitor the ceasefire, to supervise the separation zone devoid of any military presence by the parties, as well as to monitor the areas of limitation of forces and weapons to ensure that tanks, artillery or assault forces are not deployed outside the permissible limits.
ANDUF operates from its headquarters in the Spring of Fawwar camp in the countryside of Quneitra, with a logistics headquarters in Damascus, and has between 1100 and 1250 personnel from several countries, most notably Austria, Nepal, Fiji, Ireland and Uruguay. The force is deployed at dozens of locations and observation points along the Bravo (Syrian side) and Alfa (Israeli side) lines.
In 2026, the mission faces increasing challenges on the ground, most notably the Israeli incursions into Syrian territory in Quneitra and Daraa, where the occupation forces bulldoze lands and establish military berms and roads, in addition to arrests of Syrian farmers and herders near the border.