At least six Hezbollah fighters were killed Monday in Israeli strikes in Syria near the Lebanese border.
“Four of the Hezbollah fighters are Lebanese and two are Syrians,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) Director Rami Abdurrahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Earlier, SOHR said Israeli strikes targeted a Hezbollah headquarters in Al-Qusair south-west of Homs on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Another strike hit a Hezbollah headquarters used by the Iranian-backed militias south of Homs.
The observatory said that violent explosions sounded as a result of new Israeli air strikes that targeted a site near a gas station located in the al-Auras area near the Homs roundabout south of the city of Homs.
“The Ibn Al-Haytham encampment, which is used by Iranian-backed militias, is located in the area,” it noted.
According to SOHR, one of the Israeli strikes targeted a site near Al-Nabighah Al-Thubyani School, north of the roundabout in Al-Qusair city, south-west of Homs, on the Syrian-Lebanese border. The area is controlled by Hezbollah.
Plumes of smoke rose from the targeted places, while several ambulances headed towards the area. The strikes left a number of casualties, according to primary information.
On Saturday, AFP quoted SOHR as saying that an Israeli drone strike near the Lebanese border targeted a vehicle carrying “a Hezbollah commander and his companion.”
Hezbollah did not announce any deaths among its ranks on Saturday.
In March, the Israeli army struck two Syrian army sites where Hezbollah was operating. The strike was carried out based on “precise intelligence,” the army said on its Telegram account, noting that it “holds the Syrian regime accountable for all activities which take place within its territory and will not allow for any attempted actions which could lead to the entrenchment of Hezbollah on the Syrian front.”
The Israeli Army also said it struck two Syrian army sites in southern Syria, where members of the Lebanese Hezbollah group were stationed.
The Israeli army has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war there in 2011, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The strikes increased after Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, when the group launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, killing 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages, mostly civilians.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.
Since the beginning of 2024, the Syrian Observatory has counted 40 attacks in Syria, including 28 air strikes and 12 ground assaults. The strikes damaged or destroyed about 81 targets, including weapons and ammunition depots, headquarters, centers, and vehicles.
These strikes have killed 137 soldiers and injured 57 others.
The casualties include 21 Iranian members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, 26 Hezbollah members, 12 Iraqis, 28 Iranian-backed Syrian militiamen, 10 Iranian-backed non-Syrian militiamen and 40 regime soldiers.
