Hezbollah sends 'supervising forces' to Syria to defend Homs amid rebel advance

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah deployed a small contingent of “supervising forces” from Lebanon to Syria overnight to prevent anti-government fighters from capturing the strategic city of Homs, according to a Reuters report, citing two senior Lebanese security sources on Friday

“Homs must not fall,” Reuters quoted one of the sources as saying, adding that senior officers deployed overnight to oversee some Hezbollah fighters who had been in Syria near the border with Lebanon for years.

A Syrian military officer and two regional officials with close ties to Tehran confirmed to Reuters that elite Hezbollah forces had crossed from Lebanon and taken up positions in Homs.

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This development marks a significant shift in Syria’s battlefield dynamics since Monday, when sources close to Hezbollah had indicated the group did not plan to deploy to Syria.

At that time, a rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, had seized Aleppo in northern Syria. By Thursday, the rebels had taken control of Hama in central Syria and were advancing on Homs.

Homs, Syria’s largest province, shares borders with Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan and provides crucial transport routes for Iran to supply Hezbollah in Lebanon with military equipment. A Lebanese security source described Homs as a critical “reservoir” for Hezbollah and other Iran-backed factions.

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Losing Homs would sever the capital Damascus from Syria’s coastal strongholds, further isolating the regime.

Western officials also noted that Hezbollah fighters were concerned about potential Israeli airstrikes if they deployed to Syria, where Israel has carried out years of strikes targeting Iran-linked assets.

Hezbollah and Israel had exchanged fire along Lebanon’s southern border for almost a year, triggered by the Gaza war, before Israel launched an offensive in September, killing most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership. The fighting ceased on November 27, the same day the rebel offensive in Syria began.

With inputs from agencies