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On Sunday, Syrian authorities announced they had successfully disrupted a plan by Hezbollah militants, backed by Iran, to launch an attack on Israel from Syrian territory. The scheme reportedly involved a covert operation using a truck camouflaged to transport missile launchers.
The Syrian Interior Ministry revealed that they intercepted the truck in Quneitra, a southern province that encompasses the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The vehicle, along with its three passengers, had been under close observation before officials from the Interior Ministry and Syria’s General Intelligence Service intervened to arrest the suspects.
This truck was discovered to be outfitted with missiles and launchers that had been “professionally prepared and concealed,” intended for a surprise cross-border assault on Israel. According to Syrian security forces, the truck had been altered to deploy 107mm rockets from its cargo area—a tactic frequently employed by Iran-supported Shiite militias in Iraq.
In the operation, two individuals were apprehended, while a third suspect managed to evade capture.
The Interior Ministry reported that the “sabotage cell” was connected to both Hezbollah and vestiges of the Assad regime, which was ousted by the current Syrian administration in December 2024. The cell aimed to “fire missiles across the border to create instability in the region.”
Syrian officials said there have been “several attempts to destabilize the country and undermine public security” by “remnants of the former regime and unscrupulous individuals linked to Hezbollah.”
Another example occurred last week, when a terrorist cell linked to Hezbollah allegedly attempted to use a bomb to murder “a religious figure in the vicinity of the Maronite Church in Bab Touma.” Subsequent reports indicated the target was Rabbi Michael Khoury, although this has not been confirmed by the Syrian government.
The Syrian Interior Ministry seized a massive cache of weapons and explosives from the cell. Five more alleged members were arrested on Sunday.
Hezbollah claims it has “no activity, no ties and no relationship with any party in Syria and has no presence on Syrian soil.” When the Syrian government directly accused Hezbollah of participating in the Bab Touma plot, the Lebanese terrorist group said the claims were “false and fabricated” by unspecified “intelligence services” that wanted to “inflame tensions between Lebanon and Syria.”
Hezbollah is regarded with disapproval by Damascus because it supported dictator Bashar Assad against the coalition of rebels and jihadis who eventually overthrew him, as did Hezbollah’s masters in Iran. In the time since Assad’s ouster, Syria has cut off Hezbollah supply routes and shut down its drug smuggling operations.