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GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned Israeli military incursions into Syrian territory and the shelling of the southern governorates of Quneitra and Daraa on June 29, 2026, describing the operations as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and international law. He characterized the moves as a dangerous escalation that risked increasing regional tensions and instability while undermining efforts to achieve peace. The statement reaffirmed the GCC’s support for Syria’s security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Albudaiwi’s statement, distributed by the Qatari News Agency, emphasized that continued actions of this nature undermine both regional and international peace initiatives focused on Syria. It called for full respect of Syrian sovereignty along with compliance with international law and international humanitarian law. The GCC rejected any measures that violate Syria’s sovereignty or threaten its security, according to the text. Such positions form part of the bloc’s established diplomatic approach to the Syrian file.
Similar condemnations have been issued by the GCC in preceding months amid recurring incidents in the same region. According to the Saudi Press Agency, Albudaiwi denounced an Israeli attack on military infrastructure in southern Syria in February 2025 as a blatant violation of international agreements that threatened security. Anadolu Agency reported that those strikes, which occurred in late February 2025, prompted the secretary-general to call for decisive action to prevent further escalation. The pattern illustrates the consistency in the GCC’s responses to reported Israeli operations inside Syria.
The governorates of Quneitra and Daraa have featured prominently in cross-border tensions given their location near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. An International Crisis Group analysis from March 2026 noted that Israeli strikes targeted Syrian compounds in the southwest following attacks against Druze civilians, adding layers to the area’s complex security environment. The GCC statement aligns with this context by stressing the need to avoid steps that could inflame existing fault lines. Earlier joint communiques, including an October 2025 EU-GCC document, likewise reaffirmed the importance of Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity while condemning destabilizing violence.
Individual GCC member states have echoed the collective position in separate statements. Saudi Arabia condemned Israeli strikes on southern Syria in March 2026 as a blatant violation of international law and Syria’s sovereignty, a dispatch carried by News of Bahrain indicated. Qatar expressed strong condemnation of raids that targeted five areas in southern Syria and wounded dozens, according to an official statement from Doha. These parallel reactions reinforce the unified GCC stance articulated by Albudaiwi on Monday.
Albudaiwi has addressed Syrian developments through multiple GCC channels over the past year, maintaining a focus on non-interference and stability. His latest remarks arrive as the region continues to navigate the aftermath of prolonged conflict and shifting dynamics within Syria. The statement underscores the bloc’s view that external military actions must not compromise Syria’s core integrity or wider Middle East security.
