Middle East

Israel reinforces border as rebels advance in Syria

Ceasefire negotiations resume as 32 Gaza residents are killed

An anti-government fighter gestures from inside a vehicle patrolling the streets of Hama on Friday. Photograph: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images
An anti-government fighter gestures from inside a vehicle patrolling the streets of Hama on Friday. Photograph: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images
Fri Dec 06 2024 - 19:13

Syrian rebel forces advanced on the central city of Homs and Kurdish fighters seized effective control of the eastern desert on Friday, jolting President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power.

If Islamist insurgents capture Homs, it would cut off the capital Damascus from the coast, a redoubt of Assad’s minority Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and airbase.

In a parallel setback for Mr Assad, a US-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters took Deir el-Zor, the government’s main foothold in the vast desert in the east, three Syrian sources told Reuters.

It was the third major city, after Aleppo and Hama in the northwest and centre, to fall out of Mr Assad’s control in a week.

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Rebel forces have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising against Mr Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago.

Assad regained control of most of Syria after key allies – Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hizbullah group – came to his rescue. But all have recently been weakened by other crises.

In response to the rebel advance, Israel has launched attacks and sent reinforcements to its border with Syria

The Israeli air force struck the Al-Arida and Jousieh border crossings between Syria and Lebanon on the Syrian side, rendering both crossings inoperable.

“This strike is another aspect in the IDF’s [Israel Defense Forces] efforts to dismantle weapon smuggling routes used by the Syrian regime in the Syrian-Lebanese border over the past few weeks,” the military said in a statement. “These targeted strikes degrade the capabilities of Hizbullah’s unit 4400, responsible for smuggling weapons that are later used in terror attacks against Israelis and IDF troops.”

[ Who is fighting in Syria and why? Civil war flares back up as rebels advance ]

Israel is also preparing for the possibility that rebels or pro-regime militias backed by Iran may reach the border.

Military reinforcements were sent to the occupied Golan Heights which borders Syria.

An additional concern is that the Assad regime will have no choice but to accept the help that Iran is offering, increasing Tehran’s influence in the country. However, in the short term the rebel advance may provide a strategic benefit for Israel: if Homs falls, Iran’s main route for smuggling weapons overland to Lebanon will be severed.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Israel and Hamas have reportedly resumed, via mediators, on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Egypt is reportedly expecting a response from an Israeli delegation to Cairo in the coming days. According to foreign sources the emerging deal is expected to include a temporary, two-month ceasefire and the IDF’s redeployment in Gaza rather than a complete withdrawal.

At least 32 residents were killed in Gaza in the 24 hours prior to Friday evening, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, bringing to more than 44,600 those killed in the war. Some 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th last year and 251 taken into captivity in Gaza.

Israeli forces stormed into Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza and expelled some staff and displaced people before withdrawing, hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safeia said. He added that only two inexperienced surgeons are left in the hospital.

The IDF announced it had killed several senior Hamas members involved in the October 7th attack, including a commander who led the attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. – Additional reporting: Reuters