Syria has accused the Iran-backed group Hezbollah of firing artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, escalating tensions amid the ongoing regional conflict. According to Syrian state media, the shells landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, targeting positions held by the Syrian army.
The Syrian Arab Army reported observing Hezbollah reinforcements along the Lebanese border and warned that it would not tolerate any acts of aggression. “The Syrian Arab Army will respond to any threats against our sovereignty,” the military said in a statement to state media.
Lebanon became drawn into the wider Middle East conflict last week when Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike. Since then, clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified in eastern Lebanon, prompting Israeli strikes across the country, including the capital, Beirut.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Hezbollah of actions aimed at undermining the state, while the leader of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc defended the group’s stance, describing it as a necessary form of resistance.
Hezbollah has historically supported former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by an Islamist coalition opposed to the pro-Iranian Shia movement. Since Assad’s fall, supply routes from Syria have been severed, and authorities in both Lebanon and Syria are struggling to monitor and control smuggling along the porous border.
The recent shelling highlights the continuing volatility along the Syrian-Lebanese frontier and the persistent entanglement of regional powers and militias in the broader Middle East conflict.
