Hezbollah relocates in Lebanon, Syria amid Israeli threats — report

Hezbollah has reportedly evacuated positions in southern and eastern Lebanon and Syria following Israeli threats after a deadly rocket strike on the occupied Golan Heights, a source close to the group said on Sunday.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to "hit the enemy hard" a day after rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 young people in Majdal Shams, again raising fears that the war in Gaza will spread.

Israel blamed Lebanon's Hezbollah movement for firing a Falaq-1 rocket but the group said it had "no connection" to the incident.

"Hezbollah has evacuated some positions in the south and in the Bekaa valley that it thinks could be a target for Israel," the source close to the group told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Hezbollah has a presence in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which borders Syria, and in south Lebanon, where it has been launching near-daily attacks on Israeli positions since October.

The cross-border exchanges of fire have largely been limited to the border area, but Israel has repeatedly struck deep inside Lebanon, including overnight.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib says Beirut has received “calming” messages from relevant countries that Israel’s retaliation for yesterday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams will be “limited,” as will Hezbollah’s subsequent response.

Hezbollah relocates in Syria

Hezbollah is also deployed in Syria, where for years it has been supporting Bashar al Assad during the war in the country.

International war monitoring groups reported that Hezbollah-affiliated militants have evacuated their positions south of the Syria's capital Damascus and in its countryside, as well as in parts of the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights, in anticipation of potential Israeli air strikes.

Hezbollah had also reportedly abandoned positions in Syria in early June after Israeli raids.

Since the war in Syria erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed militant groups, including from Hezbollah.

The raids also seek to cut off Hezbollah supply routes to Lebanon.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.

Israel's raids on Syria intensified after launching a brutal war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

Tel Aviv is also accused of bombing the Iranian consular building in Damascus, which killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officials, including a senior commander, on April 1.

That strike prompted Iran to launch a direct missile and drone attack against Israel for the first time on April 13-14, sending regional tensions skyrocketing.