From the Liveblog of
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Hezbollah chief says supply route through Syria severed since Assad’s fall; hopes rebels won’t have ties with Israel
BEIRUT — Hezbollah head Naim Qassem says the Lebanese terror group has lost its supply route through Syria following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad nearly a week ago by a sweeping rebel offensive.
Qassem doesn’t mention Assad by name and says the group cannot make a judgment on Syria’s new ruling power until the country stabilizes.
The Hezbollah chief also says Syria’s new rulers should not recognize neighboring Israel or establish ties with it.
“We hope that this new party in power will see Israel as an enemy and not normalize relations with it,” Qassem says in a televised speech, his first since was toppled Assad following an offensive launched on November 27, the same day that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
