In Quneitra, no one can celebrate the fall of al-Assad during the Israeli attack Syrian War News

Quneitra, Syria – Ibrahim al-Dakheel, 55, watched in dismay when an Israeli bulldozer demolished his 40-year-old home, saying it is important to protect borders.

“It was 6:30 in the morning when I heard the explosion,” he told Al Jazeera, pointing to the spot where the Syrian army once stood near his destroyed house.

He and his family live in al-Rafid, a village in Quneitra district.

Al-Dakheel used to sit in his front yard, enjoying the green fields and the nearby flowing spring. He said that nothing brought him much joy.

But now, he and his family seek refuge in his parents' home in the village while he continues to watch the Israeli forces advance.

“I saw them going through the village – trucks and tanks coming to the town hall and tractors,” he said.

On December 8, Israel launched a military campaign that targeted areas across Syria and advanced to Quneitra under the pretext of searching for weapons and collaborators with the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iran.

The Israeli army set up checkpoints, uprooted trees, and destroyed the only military base, which al-Dakheel said was a small station housing a few officers.

Israeli forces have also fired stun grenades, tear gas and live ammunition at protesters unhappy with their entry into Syria.

The latest incident occurred on Wednesday when Israeli soldiers opened fire in protest against the destruction of several buildings in two villages of Quneitra, injuring three people.

The Israeli attack comes after Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted by the opposition in early December.

Days later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's presence in Syria would be “temporary”, however he later clarified that Israel would remain illegally in Syria until a new security system and a new Syrian authority were implemented.

A new replacement

Maysoun al-Faouri, 47, did not expect to be displaced from his home when Israeli soldiers entered his village.

During Syria's 13-year civil war, which began as an uprising against al-Assad whom he brutally suppressed, al-Faouri, her six children and her husband – who died two months ago from unknown causes – were displaced from al. The area of ​​Hajar al-Aswad, a suburb of Damascus.

They moved to Madinat al-Baath, an area in Quneitra where Israeli soldiers are stationed just one kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

Al-Faouri does not fully trust Israel's claims that their presence is temporary and worries that Israeli soldiers could be in his home in seconds.

“I told my children: 'If you want to run away, you can, but I don't care if I die. I don't even have money to travel. We are all tired, poor and have lost everything,'” al-Faouri, a nurse, told Al Jazeera.

“Even the soldiers do not know how long they will stay here,” he added.

Some people, al-Faouri said, would prefer to live in Israeli-occupied villages because they don't have the money to travel.

History of work and fear

Quneitra sits on the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory that Israel invaded and occupied during the 1967 war.

After Israel's withdrawal in 1974 from much of the territory it had occupied – while illegally retaining some of the Golan Heights – and the declaration of a demilitarized zone under UN supervision, the area remained neglected.

Today, many citizens continue to live in uncertainty despite expressing hope that the country will recover from the disaster of the conflict.

But Israel's seemingly endless expansion into Syrian territory is already eroding some people's hopes, according to 28-year-old lawyer Mohammad al-Fayyad.

“There is fear, lack of water, electricity and food [in Quneitra’s villages]. Schools are closed, it's not the same in other states.

“The people who fled to Damascus after the Israeli army left did not find shelter and did not receive help,” al-Fayyad said.

Those who chose to stay fear the wrath of Israel, especially if they protest against its ongoing invasion of the country.

Many Syrians, like al-Fayyad, are worried that Israel will find a new excuse to confiscate more Syrian land in the name of “security”.

“We were celebrating the victory and the fall of al-Assad, but then the occupation came, created fear and spoiled the joy,” al-Fayyad said sadly.

“We are in a new phase … of freedom. We should be able to celebrate like the rest of the country.”