After a Devastating War with ‘Israel’: Is Hezbollah Sending Its Fighters to Syria to Save Assad?

As Syrian regime forces lose critical ground and key strategic areas, a pressing question arises: could Hezbollah join the fight and take on a military role against opposition forces in Syria, as it did in 2012?

On November 27, 2024, the Syrian opposition launched Operation Deterrence of Aggression, coinciding with the ceasefire between “Israel” and Hezbollah. The war had already cost the Lebanese group some of its top leaders, including former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

In a surprise attack in northern Syria, revolutionary opposition forces seized areas in Aleppo and Idlib provinces previously controlled by Assad’s regime, forcing the regime’s forces to retreat from Aleppo, marking one of its biggest setbacks in years.

No Participation

However, on December 2, Reuters reported, citing three sources, that Hezbollah has no plans to send fighters to northern Syria to assist the Syrian army. The sources confirmed that Hezbollah had not been asked to intervene and is not prepared to deploy forces at this time, following a year-long ceasefire with “Israel” after intense ground clashes in southern Lebanon.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was closely monitoring developments and stands ready to assist the Syrian government in any way possible, but that Tehran had no current plans to provide military support, including stationing military personnel on the ground.

“In meetings with Syrian officials, there was no request for the deployment of Iranian military personnel,” said the official.

When asked about Hezbollah, a regional official close to Tehran said,” Tehran is in contact with Hezbollah, and no, there has not been any such request from the Syrian government so far.”

“As many as 4,000 Hezbollah fighters may have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Oct. 2023, according to a source familiar with the group's operations,” Reuters has learned.

One of the sources said the group had pulled senior officers responsible for Aleppo out of northern Syria to help fight a ground war against “Israel.”

Israeli airstrikes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah fighters in Syria, where the group has supported Assad's forces since 2013, alongside its allies Iran and Russia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday Syria's military was capable of confronting the rebels but “resistance groups will help and Iran will provide any support needed,” referring to the regional militia groups Tehran backs.

Disappointing al-Assad

Regarding the possibility of Hezbollah intervening militarily against the Syrian opposition, retired General Abdullah al-Asaad, head of the Syrian Strategic Studies Center Rasad, stated that “Hezbollah is simply a mercenary force.”

“If Hezbollah receives orders from Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, it could be forced to deploy its fighters to combat the Syrian revolutionaries,” he told Al-Estiklal, emphasizing that Hezbollah takes its orders from Iran, and its involvement in fighting against the Syrian opposition ultimately depends on Iranian decisions.

Al-Asaad noted that Hezbollah, currently regrouping during the ceasefire with “Israel,” is grappling with low morale, making its involvement in the fight against the Syrian opposition highly improbable.

He also suggested that Hezbollah would not be willing to defend the Assad regime, particularly after witnessing how the head of the Syrian regime failed to support Hezbollah during the war with “Israel,” even allegedly revealing Hezbollah's operatives to Israeli airstrikes aimed at eliminating them.

Throughout Hezbollah’s war with “Israel,” which began with Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, and escalated in September 2024, the Syrian regime did not provide any military support to its Lebanese ally within the “Axis of Resistance.”

Al-Asaad underscored that the Assad forces had been driven out by the Syrian revolutionaries in areas like Aleppo and Idlib, and with the regime now facing imminent defeat, it can only survive by relying on external support, leaving it isolated on the battlefield.

He also noted that the Syrian revolutionaries would be on high alert for any new entry from militia groups, particularly those approaching from the Bukamal region on the Iraqi border.

On December 2, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, citing Western intelligence sources, reported that Hezbollah had redeployed some of its forces from Lebanon to Syria to safeguard its assets. The move, the sources suggested, stems from concerns that both Hezbollah’s and Iran’s holdings in Syria could be seized by “the rebel forces.”

Israeli security officials also noted that these developments could temporarily ease tensions along the northern border (Lebanon), as Hezbollah's focus shifts to Syria. They speculated that this might allow “Israel” greater freedom of movement in Syria, as Russian efforts would now focus on saving the Assad regime. However, they cautioned that, in the long run, these events could have a negative impact on the broader Middle Eastern reality.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation concluded that Iran's involvement in Syria could deepen, as evidenced by the Iranian Foreign Minister’s visit to Damascus following the opposition's military actions, signaling that Tehran may intensify “its activities in Syria.”

‘Crimes Cannot Be Forgotten’

With the outbreak of popular protests against Bashar al-Assad's regime, hundreds of Hezbollah fighters entered Syria between 2011 and 2012, taking positions in vital locations in Damascus and northern areas such as Aleppo, especially in Nubl and al-Zahraa, as well as Kafarya and al-Fu’ah in the northeast of Idlib.

Hezbollah fighters, in both civilian and military attire, were deployed at the entrances of universities in Damascus and Aleppo, actively participating in suppressing demonstrations, beating and dragging students under orders from Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah committed horrible war crimes, including the infamous Houla massacre in 2012, where 112 Syrian civilians, including women and children, were brutally slaughtered with knives and bayonets.

In a speech on April 30, 2013, Nasrallah made it clear that Syria’s allies in the “Axis of Resistance” – Iran and Hezbollah – would do whatever was necessary to preserve the regime in Damascus.

“Syria has true friends in the region and the world who will not allow it to fall into the hands of the United States, Israel, or the takfiri [Sunni extremist] groups,” he said.

In 2013, Hezbollah committed one of its most notorious massacres in Otaybah, Damascus countryside. Leaked footage revealed the slaughter of over 175 civilians attempting to escape the besieged Ghouta.

That same year, in October, a video emerged showing Hezbollah fighters executing wounded Syrians after the battles in the Syrian city of al-Qusayr. The footage, which was graphic and heart-wrenching, depicted Syrian civilians pleading for their lives, only to be met with relentless gunfire.

In 2013, Hezbollah militia members threatened to enter the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Homs and exhume his grave. A year later, they stormed the mosque, destroyed the shrine, and looted it, writing sectarian Shiite slogans on its walls.

In 2014, a report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights accused Hezbollah of committing horrific war crimes against humanity, including “slaughtering and killing all the residents of the neighborhood, including women and children.”

The crimes ranged from field executions by gunfire, to the rape of women, the killing of children and the elderly, mutilation of bodies, and burning them.

In 2015, Russia's intervention paved the way for thousands of Hezbollah fighters to lay siege to Madaya, starving residents of food and medicine. The blockade claimed the lives of children, the sick, and the elderly before Hezbollah escalated to mass killings and forced displacement.