TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / December 6, 2024
These crossings serve as major entry points to Syria’s Homs province, a region marked by ongoing clashes between forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s government and armed Syrian militants.
The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported that the Arida border crossing between Syria and Lebanon was rendered inoperable early Friday morning following Israeli airstrikes targeting the bridge and surrounding infrastructure in the border region.
The attack caused extensive damage to the bridge connecting the Lebanese and Syrian sides and inflicted harm on several facilities at the crossing, effectively severing the vital road linking the two countries.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamieh confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Israeli strikes targeted two border crossings: the Arida crossing in northern Lebanon and the Jose crossing in eastern Lebanon.
Hamieh stated that the attacks caused significant damage to the infrastructure at both locations, forcing the suspension of all traffic through these key routes.
These crossings serve as major entry points to Syria’s Homs province, a region marked by ongoing clashes between forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s government and armed Syrian militants. Their strategic importance adds further weight to the impact of these attacks amid the ongoing conflict.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the raid on the Arida Crossing destroyed large portions of the bridge and severely damaged facilities, while the Jose Crossing experienced similar destruction.
In recent weeks, these crossings have been closed multiple times due to Israeli strikes, causing repeated disruptions in transportation between the two nations.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated that the dawn raids targeted infrastructure and facilities used to transport weapons near the Lebanese-Syrian border.
He added that the strikes were part of ongoing efforts to weaken ‘Unit 4400,’ a group he claimed is responsible for arming Hezbollah and transporting weapons, posing a “threat to Israel’s security.”
The Arida crossing had already suffered significant damage during previous conflicts, particularly during the last war on Lebanon, when Israeli airstrikes completely destroyed the bridge.
After extensive rehabilitation efforts restored the bridge for public use, Israeli airstrikes have again rendered it unusable, once more cutting off access between Lebanon and Syria.
These attacks come amid a fragile ceasefire agreement, which has seen approximately 141 violations by the Israeli military since it took effect on November 27. These violations include artillery fire, airstrikes, drone and warplane activity, as well as ground incursions and machine gun fire along the border.
In retaliation for the recent Israeli strikes, Hezbollah launched a missile attack on the Ruwaysat al-Alam area in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba hills—the first such action since the ceasefire agreement began.
Since the start of Israel’s aggression on Lebanon in September, more than 4,047 people have been killed, 16,643 injured—most of them women and children—and approximately 1.4 million people have been displaced, primarily from Lebanon’s southern and northern regions.
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Lebanon closes all its land border crossings with Syria except one
AP / December 6, 2024
Lebanon is closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for a main one that links Beirut with the Syrian capital Damascus, the General Security Directorate said Friday. The decision came hours after an Israeli airstrike damaged a border crossing in northern Lebanon just days after it was reopened.
Separately, Jordan’s interior minister said the Naseeb border crossing with Syria had been closed because of the security situation on the Syrian side. He spoke after Syrian opposition activists said insurgents had captured the main border crossing with Jordan, forcing the Syrian authorities to leave.
Israel’s military said it planned to reinforce its positions in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and near the border with Syria. Israel said it was “monitoring developments and is prepared for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike.”
Meanwhile, Syrian insurgents entered the central towns of Rastan and Talbiseh early Friday just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria’s third largest city, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported. The breakthrough came a day after jihiadi-led opposition fighters captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest.
In other developments, a Hamas official said international mediators have resumed negotiations with the Palestinian militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war is within reach.
Israel’s war against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,600 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
