Israel Confirms Attack on Hezbollah in Syria

On Monday, the Israeli army issued a rare statement confirming an attack on the "infrastructure and assets of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters" in Syria. Israeli fighter jets targeted Hezbollah's base in the Zainabiyah area. According to the Israeli army's statement, Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters is responsible for gathering and assessing information. Hussein Ali Hazimeh, the head of Hezbollah's intelligence, was killed in last month's Israeli attack on its main headquarters in Beirut. The Israeli army announced that during last month's attacks, it also killed Hashem Safi al-Din, a senior commander of Hezbollah, and Mahmoud Mohammad Shaheen, the head of the group's intelligence section in Syria. Shaheen was a long-time member of Hezbollah, particularly active in the group's intelligence sector, and had been responsible for Hezbollah's Syria section since 2007. According to the Syrian army, Shaheen was in contact with the Syrian government and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his death is considered a "major blow" to Hezbollah's intelligence capabilities. Hours before the Israeli army's statement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported three Israeli attacks on three farms in the south and southeast of Zainabiyah, on the outskirts of Damascus. This UK-based organization monitoring developments in Syria reported that these farms had previously been camps for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. The Syrian Ministry of Defense also claimed that this Israeli attack, carried out from the Golan Heights, caused material damage. No reports are yet available regarding potential casualties from this Israeli- attributed attack. Zainabiyah is one of Hezbollah's main bases and the Islamic Republic's proxies in Damascus and has repeatedly been targeted by Israeli attacks. Razi Mousavi, a former commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed in this area on December 25, 2023, due to an attack attributed to Israel. Israeli attacks against the positions of the Islamic Republic and its proxy groups in Syria have been numerous over the years, but the intensity and frequency of these attacks have significantly increased since the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 of last year, followed by the escalation of conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah. According to statistics from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this year, 25 members of the Revolutionary Guards, 52 members of Hezbollah, 80 Syrian militants supported by the Islamic Republic, and 25 non-Syrian militants supported by the Islamic Republic have been killed due to Israeli-attributed attacks in Syria. Israel has arrested an "informant" of the Islamic Republic in Syria. Two other Hezbollah commanders have been killed. Hundreds of thousands have fled from Lebanon to Syria due to Israeli attacks. The U.S. military operation in Syria has resulted in at least 35 ISIS members being killed.