BEIRUT: Hezbollah and Syrian regime forces have advanced to the edge of Israeli-held territory as part of a joint offensive against rebels in southern Syria, an activist group monitoring the war said Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad joined Hezbollah fighters at the intersection of Deraa, Qunaitra and Damascus provinces, close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
On January 18, six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general were killed in an Israeli strike in Qunaitra.
Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched an offensive Sunday to reclaim swathes of territory held by the rebels, who include jihadis, the Observatory said.
They took the village of Deir al-Adass, which had been controlled by rebels since January 2014, in clashes Tuesday that killed 20 rebels, it added.