March 2025
On March 16, a violent altercation took place between members of Lebanese tribal groups and personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Defence's Luwaa Ali Bin Aby Taleb unit. During this initial encounter, one tribal member reportedly sustained stabbing injuries. Following this, three members of the Luwaa Ali Bin Aby Taleb unit were killed within Lebanese territory by the armed tribal groups in the Jard Al-Harmal region. The tribal groups were reported as potentially belonging to smuggling networks allegedly connected to Hezbollah. The incident occurred near Al-Sad Road, opposite Al-Qasr Village along the Syrian-Lebanese border. According to reporting by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Syrian military personnel were allegedly enticed across the border into Lebanese territory, where they were subsequently ambushed. A video taken of the ambush indicated that one victim was fatally attacked with stones. Following the ambush, the tribal members took the remains to the Lebanese Army, who then gave them back to Syria. [13]
Syrian military authorities deployed substantial reinforcements toward the border region adjacent to Lebanon's northern Beqaa Valley, establishing a presence along the border and targeting areas where tribal armed groups were reportedly active. Syrian defense forces concentrated their efforts in the terrain surrounding Jard Al-Harmal, particularly near the Lebanese settlement of Hawik Village. [10] [14]
Intelligence reports indicated military convoys moving from central Syrian positions toward the border zone. Additionally, armed contingents reportedly arrived from Syria's Idlib Governorate and the Ghab Plain, suggesting a coordinated military response by Damascus. The Syrian Ministry of Defense publicly announced through its official news agency SANA its intention to implement "all necessary countermeasures" as a response to what it characterized as "a serious escalation" along its western border with Lebanon. [10] The statement accused the tribe members of being part of a Hezbollah-affiliated militia, and of kidnapping the three Syrian troops from near the Zeita Dam in Homs' western countryside into Lebanon before killing them. [15] [16] Hezbollah formally distanced itself from the conflict, issuing an official statement explicitly denying any role in the ambush, border clashes, or associated military operations. [10] [15]
In response to the mobilization of the Syrian military, the Lebanese Armed Forces dispatched reinforcement units to defend the affected border communities. Lebanese military reconnaissance aircraft have been observed conducting surveillance operations over the border area. The Lebanese military faced direct military attacks, with reports indicating projectiles landing near army positions. [10]
Fighting intensified around the Lebanese town of Qasr in the northern Beqaa Valley. Artillery shells from the Al-Qusayr countryside in Syria struck locations within Lebanese territory, with impacts reportedly from Grad rocket systems being recorded in the Hermel District of Lebanon. Guided missiles targeted vehicles traversing the border region. Mortar rounds and indiscriminate gunfire from Syria struck several Lebanese residential neighborhoods, raising humanitarian concerns due to the great risk of civilian casualties and displacement. [10] On the evening of March 17, 2025, reports indicated a further escalation as gunfire erupted between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Syrian Army on the outskirts of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali, near Lebanon’s northern border. [17] [18] Syrian forces would capture the border-crossing villages of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali and Hawch Beit Ismail announcing they would not advance past them. [19]
Syria 
Lebanon 
Naim Qassem 
Lebanese Armed Forces 
