Hezbollah takes on Syria’s new army

​Syrian troops sit atop a tank as they head toward the Syrian-Lebanese border following clashes with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups, in Qusayr, Syria, March 17, 2025.

Syrian troops sit atop a tank as they head toward the Syrian-Lebanese border following clashes with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups, in Qusayr, Syria, March 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

Fighting erupted across the border that separates Syria and Lebanon over the weekend. The new government in Syria claims the militant group Hezbollah triggered this violence by crossing into Syrian territory on Saturday, kidnapping three Syrian soldiers, and then executing them inside Lebanon. Hezbollah denies the allegation, and Lebanon’s state media blames the killing on local clans and militias. The two sides agreed to halt the fighting late Monday night.

The Syrian government and Hezbollah have historically acted as allies, but two important changes have occurred. First, Israel has pounded Hezbollah positions inside Lebanon in recent months, badly weakening the group and killing most of its leadership. Second, the current Syrian regime is composed of fighters who defeated the government of Bashar Assad, which had been Hezbollah’s reliable regional partner. Assad now lives in Moscow under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s protection.

Hezbollah has good reason for frustration. In the past, when its fighters needed more weapons and materiel, Iran provided them by sending reinforcements across Syrian territory. The new Syrian government has severed that channel. The Lebanese and Syrian armies say they have increased cross-border communication to restore calm, though Hezbollah representatives remain defiant.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of tech giant Alibaba, was once synonymous with entrepreneurship in China. But in 2020, he disappeared from public view after criticizing the country’s financial system amid President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on the tech sector. Recently, however, it seems Jack Ma may be back in the Communist party’s good graces. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer spoke with China analyst and Sinocism author Bill Bishop about the meaning behind Ma’s apparent reemergence and rehabilitation.

Palestinians are fleeing their homes in response to Israel army evacuation orders in a number of neighborhoods following heavy Israeli strikes in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025.
REUTERS/Abd Elhkeem Khaled

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire ended overnight, as Israel resumed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ refusal to release Israeli hostages. Over 300 fatalities have been reported, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Congolese and Belgian citizens take part in a protest in Brussels, while clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in DRC.
REUTERS/Yves Herman

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have withdrawn from peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo that were set to start Tuesday in Angola, citing sanctions imposed by the European Commission on Rwandan officials for plundering mineral wealth in the DRC. Rwanda, meanwhile, has severed diplomatic ties with Belgium, which had urged the Commission to impose the sanctions.

French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on March 17, 2025.
REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Amid Europe’s growing rift with President Donald Trump, a French lawmaker this weekend called on the United States to “give us back the Statue of Liberty” now that Americans “have chosen to side with the tyrants.” But French President Emmanuel Macron came out with a more concrete plan to split with Washington: He's urging allies to buy European missile systems, not American ones.

Bottles of Champagne are seen on display for sale in a wine shop in Paris, France, on March 13, 2025.
REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

European leaders caught between the rock of needing Donald Trump to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine (while they aim to beef up collective defense) and the hard place of fearing economic contraction from US tariffs are quickly realizing that nobody is having fun anymore.

A coalition of labor unions, political action, and community groups march against DOGE and proposed cuts to Medicaid, housing, food assistance, and other vital programs in New York, New York, on March 15, 2025. Some expressed their outrage with Senator Chuck Schumer for voting to advance the Republican funding bill.
Gabriele Holtermann/Sipa USA via Reuters

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met in Brooklyn on Sunday to try to plot a Democratic legislative strategy at a time of deepening divisions within their party. They don’t appear to have found one.

- YouTube

As the Trump administration continues to reshape US foreign policy and retreat from global commitments, does that create an opportunity for China to step in? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer is joined by Bill Bishop, writer of the Sinocism newsletter, for a wide-ranging conversation on China's political and economic landscape under President Xi Jinping and global ambitions in the wake of Trump 2.0.