The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have dropped leaflets over southern Syria, warning locals and security forces in the region against cooperating with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
On May 10, leaflets dropped over the western countryside of Daraa warned the locals that Hezbollah is attempting to establish presence in the region. The leaflets included the photos of two alleged local operatives of the group, “Abu al-Majd Fahed” and “Abu Laith Cuba”.
“Hezbollah continues to exploit the Syrian people and to recruit locals from the region who are trying to build their lives. We are aware of and monitoring Hezbollah operatives in the Syrian villages,” the leaflets read.
More leaflets were dropped on May 16, this time over the countryside of al-Qunitra. The leaflets warned Syrian security forces against allowing Hezbollah operatives to move in the region and called on the government to end the group’s presence there.
The leaflets included photos of two key checkpoints located near the the towns of Khan Arnabeh and al-Asbah, a few kilometers away from the separation line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“We call on the Syrian regime to change its policy, we will tolerate the presence of Hezbollah or the movement of terrorists in the region,” the leaflets read.
The IDF claims that Hezbollah is working to establish a network of cells in southern Syria to launch attacks against Israel-occupied territory.
Israel began to escalate on the Golan Heights front after a limited multi-front confrontation last April that saw the launch of two salvos of rockets from southern Syria at the occupied territory. Tel Aviv held Damascus responsible for the rare attack.
Later on in the month, the IDF launched two waves of strikes with artillery and missiles against positions of the Syrian Arab Army in the countryside of al-Qunitra after dropping similar leaflets warning against Hezbollah presence near the separation line.
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