Hezbollah leader acknowledges loss of weapons supply route through Syria

Beirut (The Uttam Hindu): Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has confirmed that the Lebanese armed group has temporarily lost its weapons supply route through Syria following the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. In his first televised address on Saturday since the collapse of Assad's government, Qassem acknowledged the disruption, describing it as a "detail" in the broader scope of Hezbollah's operations.

He added that the supply route could be restored once a new regime is in place, or Hezbollah may seek alternative pathways. "Yes, Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria at this stage, but this loss is a detail in the resistance's work," Qassem said. "A new regime could come and this route could return to normal, and we could look for other ways," he added. Hezbollah started intervening in Syria in 2013 to help Assad quash the rebels seeking to topple him at that time. Last week, as rebels approached Damascus, the group sent supervising officers to oversee a withdrawal of its fighters there.

More than 50 years of Assad family rule have now been replaced with a transitional caretaker government put in place by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, that spearheaded the rebel offensive. The Hezbollah chief also said Syria’s new rulers should not recognize neighbouring Israel or establish ties with it. Syria provided a land route for Hezbollah's patron, Iran, to send convoys of weapons to Lebanon. Such convoys were often targeted by Israeli airstrikes but the terror group was able to heavily arm itself regardless. A coalition of militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, seized control of Damascus on December 8, leading to the fall of Assad's government. Qassem said that Hezbollah could only assess the new regime once it stabilises and clarifies its position. "However, we hope the Lebanese and Syrian peoples and governments will continue cooperating," he said.

Despite the setback, Qassem reiterated that Hezbollah's resistance will continue.

Hezbollah head Naim Qassem acknowledged Saturday that the Lebanese terror group had lost its arms supply route through Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime nearly a week ago by a sweeping rebel offensive.

Qassem didn’t mention Assad by name in his televised address, and said the group “cannot judge these new forces until they stabilize” and “take clear positions,” but said he hoped that the Lebanese and Syrian people and governments could continue to cooperate.

“Yes, Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria at this stage, but this loss is a detail in the resistance’s work,” Qassem said.

“A new regime could come and this route could return to normal, and we could look for other ways,” he added.

Syria provided a land route for Hezbollah’s patron, Iran, to send convoys of weapons to Lebanon. Such convoys were often targeted by Israeli airstrikes but the terror group was able to heavily arm itself regardless.

Hezbollah started intervening in Syria in 2013 to help Assad quash the rebels seeking to topple him at that time. Last week, as rebels approached Damascus, the group sent supervising officers to oversee a withdrawal of its fighters there.

More than 50 years of Assad family rule have now been replaced with a transitional caretaker government put in place by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate that spearheaded the rebel offensive.

The Hezbollah Chief also said Syria’s new rulers should not recognise neighbouring Israel or establish ties with it.

“We hope that this new party in power will see Israel as an enemy and not normalise relations with it,” Qassem said.

The Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who is better known by his name Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said on Saturday that Israel has “no more excuses” to carry out airstrikes in Syria and that recent IDF attacks on Syrian soil have crossed red lines and threatened an escalation in the region.

However, he said his group did not seek further conflict in the region.