Israel announces imminent attack on main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria

The main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria was closed on Sunday after Israel announced an imminent strike, the day after another day of bombings and deadly fighting in southern Lebanon.

“Due to Hezbollah's use of the Masnaa border crossing for military purposes and to smuggle combat equipment, the Israeli army intends to carry out strikes on this border crossing in the near future,” the spokesperson for Hezbollah wrote on social media on Saturday evening. the Israeli army in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, urging the population to flee the area.

A Lebanese security source in Masnaa told AFP that "the border post is being evacuated following the Israeli threat." On the Syrian side, border installations are practically deserted at dawn on Sunday, with only a few guards still on duty, according to an AFP correspondent on site.

In Syria, the director of public relations for the General Authority of Borders and Customs, Mazen Aloush, affirmed that this border post, known on the Syrian side as Jdeidet Yabous, was "exclusively reserved for civilian use and is not not used for any military purpose.

“In view of the warnings circulating and out of concern for the safety of travelers, traffic at this border crossing will be temporarily suspended until the potential risks dissipate,” he added.

- Vital trade route -

The Masnaa border crossing is a vital trade route for both countries, and Lebanon's main land gateway with the rest of the region. Lebanon and Syria are connected by six official border crossings, but there are also dozens of illegal crossing points and informal routes.

Israel had already bombed Masnaa in 2024 during its previous war against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, disrupting cross-border traffic for weeks before Lebanese and Syrian authorities completed repair work.

The planned attack on the border post comes the day after another day of fighting and deadly bombings in Lebanon. The country was drawn into war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel to avenge the U.S.-Israeli attack that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

On Saturday, seven people were killed and more than 40 injured in Israeli bombings on southern Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Israel, for its part, said it lost a soldier on the same day, "died in combat" in the region.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 1,422 people, including 126 children, according to the latest official report on Saturday, and displaced more than a million people. The Israeli army lost 11 soldiers, including the one who died on Saturday. Three Helmets