The Political Affairs Administration of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) accused the Lebanese Hezbollah of targeting civilians in several areas of Idlib countryside during the past five days.

According to military observatories, Hezbollah and the regime army repeatedly targeted Idlib countryside during the past days, especially from the village of Talhiya east of Idlib, coinciding with the escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which was considered revenge against civilians in opposition-controlled areas.

Hezbollah and regime forces stationed east of Idlib targeted several villages and towns with artillery on Friday and Monday, September 20 and 23.

The shelling affected Kafriya, Foua, Sarmin, and Taftanaz, causing casualties among civilians, according to a report by the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets).

Lebanese Hezbollah is considered one of the most prominent militias that participated with the regime in suppressing the Syrian revolution since 2011. Its role in Syria increased especially after the battles of al-Qusayr in the western countryside of Homs and Qalamoun in the Damascus countryside in 2013 and 2014.

It now has a presence throughout the geography of Syria under regime control.

A source in Jaish al-Ahrar within the Taftanaz military airport told Enab Baladi that the elements stationed in the village of Talhiya under regime control belong to Hezbollah and Iranian militias.

He mentioned that Hezbollah elements have been present in the area since early 2020, when they took control of the village with regime forces, separated from opposition forces by an earthen berm and fortifications east of Taftanaz airport by about two kilometers, while Hezbollah’s positions are about four kilometers from the berm.

Until mid-2024, the number of Iranian sites in Syria is 529 military sites, led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese Hezbollah, including 27 sites in Idlib areas outside opposition factions’ control.

A map of military sites according to a report by the Jusoor Center for Studies shows the spread of Hezbollah forces in the eastern countryside of Idlib.

Military observatories operating in the area said that one of the sources of shelling on villages in the eastern and northern Idlib countryside recently is the village of Talhiya.

Civilian casualties

Five civilians, including an elderly man and a woman, were killed, and 12 others were injured, including six children and three women, in a shelling that targeted the town of Kafriya on the evening of September 23, according to the Civil Defence.

The shelling affected several neighborhoods and public facilities in the town, including Al-Hikma School and Al-Hidaya Mosque, and near the Al-Azraq Camp north of Maarat Misrin city, followed by another shelling of ten shells targeting the mentioned areas.

Last Saturday, residential neighborhoods in the city of Sarmin, east of Idlib, were subjected to artillery shelling without causing casualties.

The previous day, regime forces bombed residential neighborhoods in Taftanaz, resulting in the death of two civilians, one of whom was a child and the other a nurse, and injuring eight others, including five children and three women (a mother and her five children, siblings, and a woman and a boy who are relatives), according to the Civil Defence.

The Civil Defence noted that regime and Russian forces intentionally focus their shelling on areas close to their positions in the eastern countryside of Idlib, targeting schools and public facilities to cause the highest number of casualties and students and targeting first responders to prevent them from reaching the bombing site to rescue the victims.

These attacks come amid difficult conditions for civilians in northwest Syria, after years of repeated targeting by the regime and Russia, and the recent earthquake in February 2023. These attacks threaten civilians’ stability, prevent them from harvesting their crops, and impose a state of instability that exacerbates the suffering.

Since the beginning of this year until September 15, the Syria Civil Defence teams have responded to more than 650 attacks from regime and Russian forces and areas jointly controlled by regime forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resulting in the death of 54 people, including 15 children and six women, and injuring 245 people, including 99 children and 29 women.

Israeli escalation on Lebanon

Israel intensified its bombing on Lebanon after detonating wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah elements such as Pager and Icom walkie-talkies on September 17 and 18.

Mutual shelling between the two sides began after the Al-Aqsa Flood battle launched by the Hamas movement on October 7, 2023.

The September 17 explosions resulted in 12 deaths and about 2,800 injuries, with approximately 300 critically injured due to facial injuries affecting breathing, needing artificial respiration, and some suffering from brain hemorrhage.

The second day’s explosion killed 20 people and injured 450 others.

After the communication devices were blown up, a strike targeted a building in the southern suburb of Beirut on September 20, resulting in the death of 31 people, including three Syrians, three children, and seven women, while the number of injured reached 68, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas al-Abiad.

Hezbollah mourned two military leaders and 14 fighters killed in the Israeli bombing of the building in the southern suburb.

Israel expanded its strikes on Monday, September 23, as Lebanese Health Minister Firas al-Abiad announced that the death toll of Israeli air raids on Lebanon rose to 558, including 50 children and 94 women, in addition to 1,835 injured, according to the latest statistics published by the Lebanese National News Agency.