On November 23, the IDF attacked the Jusiyah border crossing once again. The crossing connects the town of Jusiyah in the western countryside of Homs in Syria, with the Beqaa region in Lebanon. A main road connecting the two countries passes through this crossing. The crossing allows easy access to and from the city of Homs. Homs and the surrounding area constitute a central geographical anchor of the Iranian land corridor.
The crossing was closed in late 2012 after Syrian opposition forces took control of the town of al Qusayr. In 2013, the Syrian regime, with the help of Hezbollah, managed to retake control of al Qusayr and the border crossing returned to the Syrian regime.
The crossing remained closed for about five years, during which Hezbollah used it as a military post and prevented commercial and civilian traffic. Hezbollah turned the crossing into a major route for smuggling weapons, equipment, and goods. The crossing officially reopened in 2017. We are not confident, to say the least, that any other party, except Israel, will be able to carry out effective supervision and prevention of activity to transfer weapons to Lebanon for the purpose of Hezbollah’s reconstruction and strengthening.
