The war between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated to a new phase, and in neighboring Syria, there are many who are glad to see the repeated blows the Lebanese terror organization has taken in recent days.
Many Syrians, especially the Sunni population, have not forgotten Hezbollah's brutal role in their country's civil war, where it indiscriminately slaughtered their friends and families.
As part of the Iranian-Shia so-called "axis of resistance," Hezbollah supported the regime of Syria's Alawite president, Bashar al-Assad, fighting alongside Shia and Alawite forces against the rebels. Fearing the loss of their critical foothold in Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, along with Russia, provided crucial assistance to Assad’s military, which ultimately led to the defeat of the rebels.
Hezbollah is blamed for numerous atrocities during the Syrian conflict. The group deployed forces to various parts of the country, and many of its commanders gained extensive combat experience, which may now be used in its fight against Israel.
In the wake of the recent blows to Hezbollah, the joy in Syria — particularly on social media — has been unmistakable, as those who suffered at the hands of Hezbollah relish its suffering.
Syrian journalist Hadi al-Abdallah posted a video on X explaining why some Syrians oppose Hezbollah, consider its members terrorist, and celebrate each Israeli strike against the group. In a video he shared on Thursday, he emphasized that it doesn’t matter who attacks Hezbollah: "Even if the devil himself came and killed Hezbollah’s thugs, we’d be just as happy."
In the seven-minute clip, Abdallah shows footage from Hezbollah’s operations in Syria, recounting the group’s cruelty. As he presented one video, he said: "This footage shows Hezbollah fighters attacking the city of Zabadani in Syria’s Qalamoun region. Blind hatred. They attacked civilian homes and everyone in them—women, children, the elderly. All that mattered to them was that they were killing."
Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya network also published a video highlighting the celebratory reactions in Syria after last week’s explosions targeting Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon. In one scene, a man is shown handing out sweets, saying, "This is to mark the deaths of some, or many, of Iran’s party members in Lebanon (Hezbollah)."
Another clip features a man saying, "The pagers exploded. What great news. We Syrians aren’t used to hearing such good news." The video also included reactions from Syrian users on X, many of whom oppose Hezbollah.
One user wrote, "My problem with Hezbollah is that they killed my brother and my cousins. They killed our neighbor's daughter, a baby less than a year old, while she was in her mother’s arms. They killed my people in Madaya. My problem with Hezbollah is that they destroyed my country."
Thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah operatives exploded simultaneously last week
Another Syrian user added, "Hezbollah participated in the killing of the Syrian people in the worst ways, including sieges and starvation. All the free people and those oppressed by Iran and its militias have the right to rejoice today."
Al Arabiya emphasized that Syrians described the pager explosions — one of the most significant blows to Hezbollah in its history — as "punishment for Hezbollah’s killing of children and raping of women."
Syrian journalist Qutaiba Yassin also shared his analysis of the events on X last Saturday, writing, "All three forces responsible for harming Syrians — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah — have fallen into a trap." He added, "Hezbollah today will never be the same. Hezbollah is now at the beginning of its end."
On Friday evening, as Hezbollah began releasing the names of its fighters killed in recent Israeli strikes and the targeted assassinations of senior Radwan Force commanders in Beirut's Dahieh, Syrians were quick to react to the official announcement of the death of a terrorist named Hussein Ali Ghandour. Various posts on X surfaced about Ghandour, who, according to a video published by Saudi network Al Hadath, was known as the "Butcher of Madaya" in Syria — responsible for starving Syrians and burying them alive.