The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of intense airstrikes overnight, targeting Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, alongside former Assad regime military sites in Southwestern Syria.

The most recent wave, reported a short while ago, zeroed in on the headquarters of the 132nd Mechanized Brigade of the now-defunct Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in Daraa, amplifying Israel’s campaign to neutralize threats across its northern and northeastern borders.

In Lebanon, the IAF hit Hezbollah strongholds in the south—near the volatile border—and deeper in the Beqaa Valley, a known hub for the group’s weapons manufacturing and storage. The IDF stated the strikes aimed to disrupt Hezbollah’s operations, targeting “strategic weapons sites” and operatives, following patterns seen in earlier 2025 actions like the February 8 Beqaa strike that killed six. Lebanese state media reported plumes of smoke over Baalbek, though casualty figures remain unconfirmed as of this hour.

Simultaneously, in Syria, the IAF pounded remnants of the Assad regime’s military infrastructure, with the Daraa strikes marking a significant escalation.

The 132nd Brigade’s headquarters, once a key SAA asset before the regime’s December 2024 collapse, joins a list of targets hit since Israel began dismantling Syrian military capabilities to prevent their use by rebel factions like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Earlier 2025 strikes on Daraa’s 12th Brigade and 89th Battalion, alongside radar and weapons depots, reflect Israel’s stated goal of enforcing a “sterile defense zone” in southern Syria, as articulated by PM Benjamin Netanyahu in February.

The IDF confirmed the operations, stating, “These strikes eliminate threats to Israel’s security from Hezbollah and residual Syrian military assets.” No official casualty reports have emerged from Daraa, but Syrian sources suggest the city’s military sites—abandoned since Assad’s fall—are now smoldering ruins. The strikes follow Israel’s occupation of the Golan buffer zone and Mount Hermon, moves condemned by Syria’s interim government but justified by Israel as preemptive.

This dual-front assault underscores a volatile Middle East. With Hezbollah weakened but defiant and Syria’s power vacuum deepening, Israel’s aggressive posture—backed by 22 fighter jets in the Daraa operation alone—signals an unrelenting bid to reshape regional security dynamics. As dawn nears, the fallout remains uncertain, with potential retaliation from Hezbollah or Syrian factions looming.