For over six months, hostilities between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel have continued in parallel with the Gaza war, heightening fears of a wider regional conflict. On Sunday, Israel announced it had taken another step in preparing for a possible war on its northern front, with intensified covert strikes in Syria aimed at weapons sites, supply routes, and Iranian-linked commanders, according to regional officials and diplomats.
A notable escalation occurred on June 2, when an Israeli air raid near Aleppo killed 18 people, including an adviser with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, at a clandestine, fortified weapons site. Earlier in May, Israeli airstrikes targeted a convoy of trucks transporting missile parts to Lebanon and killed several Hezbollah operatives.
Jordan has also thwarted a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the kingdom to aid opponents of the ruling monarchy, according to two Jordanian sources. The weapons, sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria, were seized in March, with the cell members arrested. The cache included explosives and firearms intended for use by a Muslim Brotherhood cell allied with Hamas.
Since the onset of the Gaza war on October 7, Israel has increased its campaign against Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah. This low-level campaign, which had been ongoing for years, escalated significantly after the Gaza conflict began. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of IRGC and Hezbollah officers in Syria, up from just two last year, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
A direct confrontation between Iran and Israel occurred in April when Israel allegedly bombed an Iranian consular building in Damascus, killing a top IRGC commander. In retaliation, Iran launched approximately 300 missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were intercepted. Israel then conducted drone attacks on Iranian territory, temporarily reducing its strikes on Iranian proxies before resuming them.
The Israeli strikes in Syria have targeted advanced anti-aircraft weapons, heavy rockets, and precision-guidance systems for missiles. The June 2 attack near Aleppo highlighted Israel’s ability to strike fortified and concealed targets, aiming to weaken Hezbollah and Iran’s military capabilities before any potential conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Amid these developments, Hezbollah has continued to launch rockets and drones at Israeli positions along the Lebanon-Israel border, with daily exchanges of fire since October 8. Israeli strikes have killed around 240 Hezbollah fighters, including top commanders, in Lebanon and Syria since the start of the Gaza war, nearing the group’s losses in the 2006 war with Israel.
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