Syrian Army Steps up Offensive on Opposition Redoubt in Daraa City

A man walks past destroyed buildings in an opposition-held neighborhood of the southern city of Daraa, on October 2, 2018. (AFP)
A man walks past destroyed buildings in an opposition-held neighborhood of the southern city of Daraa, on October 2, 2018. (AFP)
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Syrian Army Steps up Offensive on Opposition Redoubt in Daraa City

A man walks past destroyed buildings in an opposition-held neighborhood of the southern city of Daraa, on October 2, 2018. (AFP)
A man walks past destroyed buildings in an opposition-held neighborhood of the southern city of Daraa, on October 2, 2018. (AFP)

Syrian forces aided by pro-Iranian militias stepped up an offensive on Tuesday against an opposition enclave in a southwestern pocket bordering Jordan and Israel, according to residents, military and opposition sources.

Fighting escalated earlier this week after the collapse of a Russian peace plan meant to avert an all-out offensive against Daraa al-Balad, the core of the city of Daraa that has defied state authority since surrounding Daraa province was recaptured by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in 2018.

Witnesses and military sources that dozens of improvised missiles were fired into Daraa al-Balad by the Syrian military's pro-Iranian Fourth Division, backed by Iranian-financed local militias.

Army sources said troops that have encircled the urban opposition bastion for the last two months brought forward reinforcements on Monday ahead of a final thrust into the center of Deraa.

Daraa al-Balad was the birthplace of peaceful protests against autocratic Assad family rule that broke out a decade ago before spreading in response to deadly crackdowns by security forces and morphing into a devastating war.

The latest army campaign came amid a spate of attacks over the past 24 hours by remnants of opposition groups on army checkpoints and outposts in Dael, Jasem and other towns across Daraa province, opposition sources and residents said.

A Western intelligence source said several thousand families in towns caught in the crossfire had fled to safer areas near the Jordanian border where the Jordanian army was on alert for a possible new wave of refugees.

The Syrian army said at least four soldiers were killed in ambushes on troops in the towns of Sanameen and Nawa, and that opposition shelling had caused several casualties in residential areas.

Government forces, aided by Russian air power and Iranian militias, retook Daraa province in 2018, and Moscow assured Israel and the United States at the time that it would prevent Iranian-backed militias encroaching on the border zone.

That deal forced thousands of Western-backed opposition fighters to hand over heavy weapons but kept Assad's forces from entering Daraa al-Balad, whose administration remained in opposition hands.

Local elders said the opposition told Russian mediators they had rejected an ultimatum delivered overnight by the army to hand over their light arms and allow troops to set up checkpoints inside Daraa al-Balad.

Pro-Assad forces have prevented food, medical and fuel supplies coming into Daraa al-Balad but opened a corridor for civilians to leave, according to local officials and residents.

The United States and its allies have voiced concern about Assad's military campaign in Daraa, which they say is challenging Russia's pledge to maintain stability and rein in Iran-backed militias hostile to Israel.

Assad withstood the long insurgency against him and has regained control of around 70% of Syria with Russian and Iranian help. But Idlib in the far northwest remains under opposition control and patches of the northeast are in Kurdish hands.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.