Hezbollah denies any link to cell dismantled in Syria

An image grab taken from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV on November 6, 2024, shows Hezbollah chief Naim Qasem delivering a televised speech from an undisclosed location. – Qasem said that his group had tens of thousands of combatants ready to fight Israel, in a speech marking 40 days since his predecessor was killed in a strike. (Photo by Al-Manar / AFP) /

Hezbollah denied on Wednesday any connection to a cell that Syrian authorities said they had dismantled in the country’s south and which they accused of being affiliated with the Lebanese militant group.

A statement from the Iran-backed movement’s media office said it “categorically denies any relationship or connection between Hezbollah and the alleged cell” and emphasised that “it has no presence whatsoever on Syrian territory and has no involvement in any security or military activity there”.

On Tuesday, Syria said intelligence services and security forces “thwarted a sabotage plot in the Yarmuk basin in Daraa (province) and arrested a Hezbollah-affiliated cell composed of three individuals”.

Authorities said the cell attempted “to prepare rocket launch platforms with the aim of carrying out attacks to destabilise security and stability”, without specifying the target.

The Yarmuk basin area, where state media has previously reported Israeli incursions and shelling, borders the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, as well as Jordan.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said there were “indications” that Israel’s enemies could try to attack ahead of elections scheduled for late October.

Syria’s new authorities, who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, are hostile to Hezbollah, which is a sworn enemy of Israel and fought on Assad’s side during the Syrian civil war.

Authorities have previously said they dismantled several Hezbollah-linked cells preparing attacks in Syria, accusations the group has denied.

In Wednesday’s statement, Hezbollah accused Israel of seeking to disrupt ties between Lebanon and Syria.

It called on Syrian authorities “to identify the real beneficiary of escalating tensions between the two countries, namely the Israeli enemy”.

Last month, Hezbollah’s chief Naim Qassem said he had no objection to meeting openly with Syria’s leadership.

In June, responding to a question about whether he would sit at the table with Hezbollah, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that “if this serves Lebanon’s interests and safeguards Syria’s interests, why not”.