Gaza war prompts Hezbollah 'mobilization for third front' with Israel

Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Iranian-backed militias have begun to mobilise fighters including to southwestern Syria towards the Israeli border, in the event Israel's war on Gaza escalates to new fronts in Lebanon and Syria.

The potential involvement of groups from Syrian territory risks pulling another party into the raging conflict between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah, forcing Israel to fight on two or three separate fronts.

According to Omar Abu Layla, the executive director of Deir e-Zour 24, Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias have circulated requests to hire fighters from the eastern province of Deir e-Zour to be deployed in the western province of Quneitra.

Quneitra is a sparsely populated area in the Golan Heights where Hezbollah and Iranian-backed forces have gradually built up military infrastructure over the last few years.

Three other independent sources also confirmed to TNA that Hezbollah fighters had begun sending reinforcements to Quneitra since Monday.

"A lot of Hezbollah forces are present in Quneitra, as well as the western countryside of Daraa by the Israeli border fence. If they enter the [Israeli-occupied] Golan, the geography and infrastructure there is helpful to them," Nour Abo Hasan, a journalist and researcher focusing on southern Syria and Quneitra, told TNA.

A Hezbollah spokesperson told TNA that while the group "is present in Syria," it would not comment on any developments there.

The fighters' movements come as Israel prepares for a land invasion of Gaza in the wake of Hamas's Operation al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday.

Hezbollah has reportedly warned that if a ground invasion by Israel occurs, it could prompt a more significant response from the militia.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged rockets along the southern Lebanese border since Sunday, but so far have managed to keep the fighting from spilling into a full-on regional war.

"Hezbollah wants to keep the destruction away from Lebanon. Quneitra is not a heavily populated area … if Israel launches rockets at the area, the villages are tiny, isolated and spread out," Abo Hasan speculated.

The UAE has reportedly pressured high-level Syrian officials to not become involved in any confrontation with Israel war or allow attacks on Israel from Syrian territory.

On 9 October, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed al-Nahyan called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with state media only mentioning they discussed "developments" in Palestine and the region.

The US has also ratcheted up the cost of escalation with Hezbollah and Syria, parking an aircraft carrier group in the eastern Mediterranean as a deterrent.

Analysts have said that Hezbollah is likely waiting to see the severity of Israel's response in Gaza before deciding whether it wants to fully commit to fighting Israel alongside Hamas.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran or other "resistance powers" could open "new fronts against Israel" if it continued to commit "war crimes" in Gaza.

Abdollahian is holding talks in Lebanon with Lebanese officials and is likely to meet Hezbollah representatives on Friday.

Paul McLoughlin also contributed to this report.