Israel monitoring Syria unrest to prevent transfer of arms to Hezbollah

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday claimed that “Hezbollah was defeated in the last battle” and Israel “must ensure that it does not smuggle weapons into Lebanon through Syrian territory.”

“We are closely following what is happening in Syria and will ensure that the Iranian regime does not exploit the situation there in an attempt to transfer weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Syrian territory,” Adraee said in an Arabic-language post on the X platform.

The 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive during which they seized Aleppo, one of Syria's largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the rebels' strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the country's borders.

It was the first opposition attack on Aleppo since 2016, when a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Syrian President Bashar Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups had allowed Assad to remain in power within the 70% of Syria under his control.

Insurgents led by jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched the two-pronged attack on Aleppo last week and moved into the countryside around Idlib and neighboring Hama province. The Syrian military has rushed reinforcements and launched airstrikes as they attempted to stall their momentum.

The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.