Lebanon and Syria reshape ties amid Israeli attacks and regional shifts

Beirut, Lebanon – On May 9, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made his 2nd official sojourn to the Syrian superior Damascus since the autumn of the al-Assad authorities successful 2024. The travel came arsenic some Lebanon and Syria endure ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation of their territories.

It besides marks the continuation of a ‘new framework’ for relations betwixt the 2 countries, analysts told Al Jazeera. That followed years of Syria exerting its governmental and information power implicit Lebanon, and the Lebanese radical Hezbollah’s subject enactment for President Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s civilian war.

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“Damascus is framing the narration arsenic 1 betwixt 2 sovereign and adjacent states, and it has matched the rhetoric with organization moves similar suspending [in October] the [Lebanese-Syrian] Higher Council that symbolised Syrian tutelage [and] operating embassies connected some sides,” Nanar Hawach, International Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Syria, told Al Jazeera.

New priorities

In December 2024, Syrian absorption groups launched an cognition to instrumentality government-controlled areas, including Damascus, from the grip of the al-Assad regime. In the aboriginal hours of December 8, Bashar al-Assad fled the country, bringing an extremity to 5 decades of dynastic household regularisation successful Syria.

Al-Assad near the state successful tatters. A 2011 uprising against him was violently suppressed by the authorities and the warfare that followed destroyed immense areas of the country. Syria nether al-Assad was isolated from the planetary assemblage and suffered from repeated and compounding planetary sanctions.

The autumn of al-Assad changed the dynamic with Lebanon, Mounir Rabih, a Lebanese governmental analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“No 1 successful Lebanon thought al-Assad would autumn and nary 1 expected [Ahmed] al-Sharaa to travel to power,” helium said, referring to the existent Syrian president, who led the subject violative that toppled his predecessor.

The analyzable narration betwixt Lebanon and Syria dates backmost to their instauration arsenic modern nations. While Mount Lebanon arsenic a portion had a grade of section autonomy nether the Ottoman Empire pre-1918, Lebanon arsenic a modern authorities was established nether the post-Ottoman French mandate, separating it from Greater Syria.

The implementation of borders changed societal, economical and governmental realities for many, successful some Syria and Lebanon. In 1971, President Hafez al-Assad came to powerfulness successful Syria and a fewer years later, Lebanon’s civilian warfare broke out.

In 1976, Syria nether al-Assad invaded Lebanon and would inhabit parts of it, retaining important governmental and information influence, until 2005, erstwhile fashionable protests expelled the Syrian beingness from Lebanon. Hafez al-Assad died successful 2000 and was succeeded by his son, Bashar.

Even aft Syrian troops near Lebanese territory, Syria retained power done the regime’s section allies. That power began to wane successful 2011 arsenic the Syrian uprising turned the state’s absorption to its ain interior dynamics, but al-Assad’s ousting inactive marks a important displacement successful Lebanon.

The autumn of the al-Assad authorities chopped disconnected Hezbollah’s onshore way to person backing and weapons from its benefactor Iran. Both al-Assad and Hezbollah were seen arsenic portion of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’, and Hezbollah had besides played a important relation suppressing absorption to al-Assad successful Syria.

Syria’s caller government, led by al-Sharaa, was adamantly opposed to Hezbollah. It besides aimed to instrumentality the state to the planetary fold, region Assad-era sanctions, and play an important economical relation successful the region.

As for Lebanon, Syria stated its volition to dainty its neighbour arsenic an equal, alternatively than arsenic a territory to power oregon an arena to play retired its battles. With this caller narration came a caller bid of priorities

“Damascus’s apical priorities connected the Lebanon record are borderline power and demarcation, the transportation of Syrian detainees held successful Lebanese prisons, exile returns connected presumption Damascus tin manage, and the Assad-era figures who fled into Lebanon,” Hawach said. “Recovering Syrian deposits trapped successful Lebanese banks sits down these, and the economical files similar gas, energy and transit fertile little contempt generating astir of the nationalist rhetoric.”

A caller page

One of the issues that has dominated headlines has been the much than 2,000 Syrians successful Lebanese prisons. In March, 130 Syrian prisoners were transferred from Lebanon to Syria wherever they volition service the remainder of their sentences, but hundreds remain.

The contented is contentious successful Lebanon, wherever immoderate are held connected “terrorism” charges and others person been held for attacks connected the Lebanese Army. Still, astir person ne'er been tried, contempt spending years successful jail, due to the fact that of governmental gridlock, judicial strikes and governmental indifference.

After his latest visit, Salam said the captive contented had been discussed, arsenic had strengthening practice betwixt the 2 countries.

“We discussed continuing efforts to code the contented of detained Syrians [in Lebanon] and to uncover the destiny of the missing and forcibly detained successful some countries,” Salam said aft gathering al-Sharaa.

But determination are besides 2 large issues that interaction some countries that person not been spoken astir arsenic priorities: however each broadside wants to grip Hezbollah, and Israeli encroachments connected their respective territories.

When Hezbollah attacked Israel connected March 2 successful retaliation for the sidesplitting of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rumours started to dispersed successful Lebanon implicit imaginable Syrian intervention. The Reuters quality agency, citing sources briefed connected the topic, reported that al-Sharaa had rejected the thought of deploying troops to Lebanon to assistance disarm Hezbollah.

“What Damascus is already doing is astir apt the ceiling of what it volition do: sealing its broadside of the border, breaking up smuggling networks, and signalling support, astatine slightest rhetorically, for the Lebanese state’s effort to bring each weapons [including Hezbollah’s] nether its control,” Hawach said. “Beirut and Damascus person kept Hezbollah disconnected the ceremonial bilateral agenda, and some look to find that statement useful.”

No statement connected Israel

As for Israel, the 2 countries bash not look to beryllium discussing immoderate benignant of bilateral enactment oregon statement astatine the moment, with some countries alternatively focused connected interior stableness first.

“Beirut and Damascus stock a genuine communal involvement successful pushing backmost against Israeli territorial enlargement and the hazard of being pressured into one-sided agreements, but determination appears to beryllium nary structured coordination betwixt them connected the Israel file,” Hawach said. “Each is negotiating separately nether US mediation, and the astir that exists for present is leadership-level consultation.”

Israel’s attacks successful Lebanon person killed astir 3,000 radical since March 2 arsenic Israeli forces propulsion into the south, causing widespread destruction, demolition of homes and displacing much than 1.2 cardinal people. A ceasefire was announced by Donald Trump connected April 16. Since then, lone 1 onslaught has deed Beirut’s suburbs, but Israeli attacks and displacement orders successful confederate Lebanon person not ceased. Nor has Hezbollah retaliation.

But Syria has besides not escaped Israeli attack. In the twelvemonth aft the autumn of al-Assad, Israel struck Syria much than 600 times. On May 17, Fadel Abdulghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights accused Israel of “gradually annexing” confederate Syria. The time aft al-Assad fell, Israel seized much land successful the occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian authorities has avoided attacking Israel and has tried to usage its renewed planetary lasting to fortify itself instead. In November 2025, al-Sharaa became the archetypal Syrian person to visit the White House, marking a blossoming narration with Trump.

Still, the Israelis attacked Syrian subject posts arsenic precocious arsenic March, and proceed to acceptable up checkpoints connected Syrian territory, according to Syrian media.

“Israel is taking portion of Lebanon and portion of Syria,” Rabih said, adding that it is trying to make discord betwixt the 2 states. However, Rabih added that a caller confederation is forming successful the region.

“Turkiye and Saudi Arabia privation Lebanon and Syria to coordinate,” helium said. He added that Syria and Lebanon would question extortion that mode from a wider confederation that could person the US to unit Israel to halt its aggression and onshore grabs.

But that file, analysts said, volition beryllium portion of a wider determination framework. For the clip being, Lebanon and Syria look to beryllium operating connected adjacent footing, contempt a past of Syrian hegemony implicit its smaller neighbour. But each country’s precedence – and peculiarly Syria’s – are their ain home matters.

“Lebanon is not a precedence record successful Damascus close now,” Hawach said. “The caller authorities is consumed with stabilising Syria, managing Israel and securing reconstruction money, and it has neither the appetite nor the bandwidth to prosecute a much ambitious docket successful Lebanon adjacent if it wanted to.”