Syria’s new government has been forced to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon after several members of the Syrian security forces were killed. The killings happened just across the border from northern Lebanon. This area near Hermel and Qusayr has been infiltrated by Hezbollah in the past. It served as a staging area for Hezbollah when the Iranian-backed terrorist group intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2012.
Now, Hezbollah continues to murder people in Syria. Hezbollah opposes the new Syrian government. Hezbollah also suffered a major setback at the hands of Israel between September and November 2024. This enabled Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib to launch an offensive that captured Aleppo and led to the fall of the Syrian Assad regime on December 8. The new Syrian government thus understands how Hezbollah backed Assad and how it resents the loss of the Assad regime.
According to the AP, the recent fighting began on the border after three soldiers of the Syrian government were killed. In response, the Syrian army shelled “Hezbollah gatherings that killed Syrian soldiers” along the border, the report said. Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack on Syria that led to the response. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, has reported that five other Syrian soldiers were killed during Monday’s clashes.
Al-Arabiya showed footage of the fighting in which one of their cameramen was caught up in rocket fire. Hezbollah allegedly fired toward the media crew that was with the Syrian forces. ‘The attack resulted in the death of a Syrian army member and the injury of a number of journalists, including a cameraman for Al Arabiya and Al Hadath. They were treated at the hospital, according to our correspondent,” Al-Arabiya said.
“According to the details, the Syrian-Lebanese border is witnessing developments on the ground, the latest of which was the minor injury of Al Arabiya photographer Rustum Salah, in addition to the injury of a number of journalists, while monitoring intermittent clashes between Syrian forces and Hezbollah elements opposite the town of Al-Qasr, near the Syrian-Lebanese border.”
The report says that Hezbollah militants in the Zeita area of Homs Governorate, located on the Syrian-Lebanese border, have attacked the Syrian forces. “This comes as the Syrian army has fully deployed along the border with Lebanon, following the Syrian Ministry of Defense's dispatch of significant reinforcements to the border area. Al Arabiya and Al Hadath cameras documented the moment the Syrian army targeted the Lebanese Hezbollah militia with dozens of missiles near the Syrian-Lebanese border in the Homs countryside,” the report said.
“Syrian forces artillery stationed in the Qusayr area continued to strike Lebanese Hezbollah positions in the Hermel border region while the Syrian army deployed along the Syrian border. This comes after Hezbollah kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers,” the report said.
Syria’s Ministry of Defense has said it will do what is necessary to stop the escalation. The Syrian Ministry of Defense added that Hezbollah members had entered the Syrian border, an act that precipitated this fighting.
Complex times
The fighting comes at a complex time. This is at least the second time the Syrian forces have had to deal with chaos near Hermel on the border. At the same time, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa held a call with the emir of Qatar on Monday, according to Syrian state media. Syria needs funding, and it needs it soon. The Assad regime left the country in ruins.
The Syrian government is also trying to deal with the fallout of clashes in Latakia in which numerous civilians were killed by extremists. A new report by CNN shows the mass graves of dozens of people in Latakia. These are members of the Alawaite minority who were massacred on March 6 and March 7 after Syrian security forces were killed by pro-Assad gangs. The Syrian government enabled members of Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria to enter Latakia and murder Alawites. Damascus is now trying to make amends but it has led to questions about whether Shara’a can control the country. Sharaa has also signed a deal with the US-backed SDF, which could shore up stability in Syria.
Meanwhile, reports say that ahead of a donor conference, Germany had pledged hundreds of millions in aid for Syria.
According to Al-Arabiya, the Lebanese army, through the Lebanese Red Cross, handed over to the Syrian authorities the bodies of the three fighters found near the town of Al-Qasr on Sunday afternoon via the Jusi Al-Qaa crossing. “In a statement, Hezbollah denied any connection to the events taking place on the Lebanese-Syrian border, or any events taking place within Syrian territory.” Footage showed large numbers of residents fleeing eastern Lebanon for fear of escalating clashes between Hezbollah and the Syrian army, the report said.
