Hezbollah supports Syria’s al-Assad as opposition forces ramp up offensive

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, has pledged that the Lebanese group will support the Syrian government amid an advance by "terrorist groups" attempting to destabilize the country, News.az reports citing Al Jazeera.

“They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can,” Qassem said on Thursday, adding that the “aggression” is sponsored by the United States and Israel.

His comments came hours after Syrian opposition forces captured the strategic city of Homs in central Syria, their latest victory in a lightning offensive that was launched eight days ago.

Qassem did not give details of how Hezbollah would support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but said the Iran-aligned group would do what it could.

Hezbollah is currently observing a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel, after a year of war that has brought much devastation to Lebanon’s south in particular. Many of the group’s leadership have been killed in Israeli attacks, while tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have been driven from their homes.

‘Region already on fire’

Civilians have also borne the brunt of Syria’s 13-year-long war, which had been largely frozen since 2020 until opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, launched a new offensive from their strongholds in northwest Syria last week.

Over the weekend the rebels captured Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, before pushing south and entering Hama on Thursday.

More than 280,000 people have been displaced by the recent fighting, the United Nations World Food Programme said in a post on X.

News.Az