Group lost supply route in Syria after al-Assad fall

The leader of the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Naim Qassem, on Saturday admitted that his group had lost a supply route after the overthrow of the allied regime of Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

“Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria. This is a small detail. The resistance is flexible and what is important is its continuity,” Qassem said in a televised address.

Last week, Islamist-led rebels in Syria advanced on the capital Damascus and forced al-Assad, who had ruled for more than two decades, to flee the country.

The rebels’ capture of Damascus came after making major territorial gains in a lightning offensive in the war-torn country.

Al-Assad’s ouster has dealt a blow to the so-called “axis of resistance” made up of Iran’s allies.

In addition to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the anti-Israel alliance includes militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.

Qassem said his group would not judge the rebels, now in power in Syria, until they take clear positions and the situation stabilizes in Syria.

“We hope that the new rule in Syria will consider Israel an enemy and will not normalize ties with it,” he added.

Last month, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire after painstaking negotiations to halt more than a year of cross-border conflict.

The leader of the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Naim Qassem, on Saturday admitted that his group had lost a supply route after the overthrow of the allied regime of Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

“Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria. This is a small detail. The resistance is flexible and what is important is its continuity,” Qassem said in a televised address.

Last week, Islamist-led rebels in Syria advanced on the capital Damascus and forced al-Assad, who had ruled for more than two decades, to flee the country.

The rebels’ capture of Damascus came after making major territorial gains in a lightning offensive in the war-torn country.

Al-Assad’s ouster has dealt a blow to the so-called “axis of resistance” made up of Iran’s allies.

In addition to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the anti-Israel alliance includes militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.

Qassem said his group would not judge the rebels, now in power in Syria, until they take clear positions and the situation stabilizes in Syria.

“We hope that the new rule in Syria will consider Israel an enemy and will not normalize ties with it,” he added.

Last month, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire after painstaking negotiations to halt more than a year of cross-border conflict.