Four Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) soldiers were moderately wounded Friday during clashes with Syrian gunmen. The battle took place at the Lebanon-Syria border in the Ma’arboun-Ba’albek area, where smugglers and human traffickers have used an illegal crossing, including to transfer Iranian arms to Hezbollah.
Marboun is a town located in the Ba’albek-Hermel governorate, which is largely pro-Hezbollah.
The Syrian fighters shot at a Lebanese military unit that was closing the illegal border crossing, according to an LAF statement posted on the X social media platform.
“Syrians attempted to open the crossing using a bulldozer, so army personnel fired warning shots into the air. The Syrians opened fire at army personnel, injuring one of them and provoking a clash. Army units deployed in the sector have taken strict military measures and the necessary follow-up is being conducted on the incident,” the statement said.
بتاريخ ٣ / ١ / ٢٠٢٥، أثناء عمل وحدة من الجيش على إغلاق معبر غير شرعي عند الحدود اللبنانية السورية في منطقة معربون – بعلبك، حاول أشخاص سوريون فتح المعبر بواسطة جرافة، فأطلق عناصر الجيش نيرانًا تحذيرية في الهواء، وعمد السوريون إلى إطلاق النار نحو عناصر الجيش ما أدى إلى إصابة أحدهم… pic.twitter.com/GFllAnc6lt
— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) January 3, 2025
Lebanon’s General Security Directorate decided to “prohibit any Lebanese from entering Syria through illegal crossings between both countries in Bekaa and the north, pending clarity during this stage,” an agency source told Arab News.
In response, Syria immediately imposed new entry conditions on Lebanese visitors, surprising Lebanese officials and civilians alike.
A Lebanese General Security official said Friday his forces were “surprised to see the border had been closed … from the Syrian side.”
Buses carrying Lebanese passengers intending to enter Syria were forced to turn back this weekend due to the new regulations.
Under the new rules, Lebanese citizens are required to provide proof of a hotel reservation and at least $2,000 in cash before entering the country. Previously, Lebanese nations were allowed to enter Syria without a visa, according to the AFP news agency.
Lebanese nationals visiting Syria for surgery or other medical care must now have proof of an appointment and a Syrian citizen who can confirm their identity.
Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Shara’a (formerly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist chief Mohammed al-Julani) detailed a three to four-year timeline building a new Syria in a recent interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya. The timeline he described included the writing of a constitution (three years) and a national census that would lead to elections (four years).
But as the Institute for the Study of War’s Critical Threats project notes, al-Shara’a and his interim government – led by HTS – “have yet to enact the tangible and irreversible steps toward implementing the type of representative democracy described in his interview.”
Israeli officials are closely watching the situation in Syria; some Israeli analysts have said that ultimately, the new Syrian regime will turn against the Jewish State despite al-Sha’ara’s claims of desiring peace.
