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BEIRUT: Hezbollah denied on Wednesday any connection to a cell that Syrian authorities said they had dismantled in the country\u2019s south and which they accused of being affiliated with the Lebanese militant group.<\/p>\n
A statement from the Iran-backed movement\u2019s media office said it \u201ccategorically denies any relationship or connection between Hezbollah and the alleged cell\u201d and emphasised that \u201cit has no presence whatsoever on Syrian territory and has no involvement in any security or military activity there\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Syria said intelligence services and security forces \u201cthwarted a sabotage plot in the Yarmuk basin in Daraa (province) and arrested a Hezbollah-affiliated cell composed of three individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n
Authorities said the cell attempted \u201cto prepare rocket launch platforms with the aim of carrying out attacks to destabilise security and stability\u201d, without specifying the target.<\/p>\n
The Yarmuk basin area, where state media has previously reported Israeli incursions and shelling, borders the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, as well as Jordan.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said there were \u201cindications\u201d that Israel\u2019s enemies could try to attack ahead of elections scheduled for late October.<\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s new authorities, who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, are hostile to Hezbollah, which is a sworn enemy of Israel and fought on Assad\u2019s side during the Syrian civil war.<\/p>\n
Authorities have previously said they dismantled several Hezbollah-linked cells preparing attacks in Syria, accusations the group has denied.<\/p>\n
In Wednesday\u2019s statement, Hezbollah accused Israel of seeking to disrupt ties between Lebanon and Syria.<\/p>\n
It called on Syrian authorities \u201cto identify the real beneficiary of escalating tensions between the two countries, namely the Israeli enemy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last month, Hezbollah\u2019s chief Naim Qassem said he had no objection to meeting openly with Syria\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
In June, responding to a question about whether he would sit at the table with Hezbollah, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that \u201cif this serves Lebanon\u2019s interests and safeguards Syria\u2019s interests, why not\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n