Lebanese man killed by unknown assailants in Hosh al-Sayed Ali

In the village of Hosh al-Sayed Ali, straddling the border between Lebanon and Syria, partially located in the Lebanese region of Hermel (Bekaa), Lebanese national Khodr Mohammad al-Hajj Hassan was killed by assailants who were in his home at the time, according to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the region. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the Lebanese Army confirmed these reports, adding that the identities of the assailants could not immediately be disclosed.

According to details, still based on information from L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent who spoke with the victim’s uncle, brothers Khodr and Mahdi Hassan were inspecting their house when they surprised a group of burglars stealing furniture and belongings from their home. When Khodr Hassan shouted at them, one of the burglars shot him, while his brother Mahdi escaped unharmed. Khodr was transported to al-Assi Hospital in Hermel, where he died shortly after from his wounds.

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Why is the Lebanon-Syria border so blurred?

This village has been regularly the scene of tensions since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, amid an undelimited border with Syria and the waning influence of Hezbollah and affiliated clans in the area, reaching into the Syrian region of Qoussair, in favor of the ruling Sunni Islamist coalition in Syria. It was not immediately possible to determine if Monday morning’s murder was connected to cross-border tensions.

The most recent incident dates back to mid-June, when members of the Syrian security forces fired from Syrian territory. At the end of April, a drone attack carried out by the Syrian security forces wounded at least six people. Syrian authorities then said they had responded to gunfire from Lebanese territory due to disputes related to “smuggling activities.”

In February and March, there were sporadic clashes between clans, known to be close to Hezbollah, and the Syrian authorities. At the end of March, the Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They then agreed to strengthen security and military coordination along the 330-kilometer-long and notoriously porous border and signed an agreement in principle to demarcate it. On April 14, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited Damascus, where he met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to discuss, among other things, border security. The “permanent delineation and definition of the border between Lebanon and Syria” is part of the 11 points of the “Barrack plan” approved by the Salam cabinet last week.