From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 1, 2024
Syrian rebel officer to Channel 12: Offensive against Assad regime will stop Hezbollah members fleeing to Syria
A senior member of a Syrian rebel group tells Israel’s Channel 12 that the surprise offensive launched against Syria’s military last week coincided with the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, after the rebels assessed that members of the Iran-backed terror group were likely to flee across the border from Lebanon into Syria.
The officer, who was identified by Channel 12 only as “Y,” says that the renewed fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces is necessary to ensure that “Hezbollah members from Lebanon, who have come to Syria and have stood by the Assad regime, will not have a permanent foothold.”
He says that the rebel group realized the offensive was necessary and that “this is the right time” to carry it out.
“We will not allow them [Iran’s proxies] to fight in our areas, and we will not allow the Iranians to settle there and support the Iranian militias in carrying out hostile actions against the regions we liberated, whether in Idlib or the Aleppo province,” the rebel officer adds.
He says that the rebels’ dream is to “overthrow the Assad regime and create a climate for all Syrians, and all ethnicities and nationalities,” and to form strong relations “with all neighboring countries.”
“It will be a country based on equality and justice for all Syrian citizens without exception, where there will be peace and security with the entire region, including with Israel,” he tells Channel 12.
Also speaking to Channel 12 is exiled Syrian opposition leader Fahad Al Masri, who urges Israel to act against Iran in support of the Syrian rebel groups.
“We call on the Israeli leadership to launch intensive attacks against the positions and troops of the Iran-backed militias in Syrian territory,” he says. “It will be necessary to strike sites in Homs, Damascus and on the Lebanon border. This will help rid Syria’s territory of the Lebanese presence and Hezbollah’s weapons and the octopus tentacles of Iran.”
