[71] Other objectives in this offensive were the Brick Factory base (Al-Qarmeed), near Mastouma, and the Al-Ghaab Plain in Hama governorate,[72] where FSA units were tasked with spearheading the cutting of Syrian Arab Army supply lines from the west.

[72] However, the Syrian Army claimed that it "secured the city" at the cost of 13 soldiers and denied that rebels advanced near the sugar plant.

[88] Throughout the first few days of the offensive, FSA brigades such as Fursan al-Haq and the 1st Coastal Division (including notable gunner Osama Abo Hamza) used anti-tank TOW missiles against a number of SAA armored vehicles in the al-Ghaab Plain.

[91][92] The national hospital and one checkpoint specifically remained under government control at this point,[93] as clashes continued in the southwestern part of the city.

[103] Military sources also reported the SAA recapturing a village in the Al-Ghaab Plain[104] and opening a corridor from the sugar plant to the soldiers besieged at the hospital in Jisr al-Shughur.

[113] On the same day, a military source reported that Syrian government troops launched a counterattack on the Brick Factory in Idlib.

[114] Video footage emerged of Col. Hassan conducting a phone call to Damascus pleading for reinforcements while surrounded by his troops.

[18] On 2 May, SAA units, backed by Hezbollah, launched a counter-attack[122] and recaptured three villages in the al-Ghaab Plain:[18] Al-Misheek, Al-Ziyarah and Tall Waset.

[131] Rebels reportedly advanced in the Hosh Msibin and Bothayna areas after they destroyed two tanks[132] and recaptured Tal SyrianTel.

[136] On 7 May, the Syrian Army claimed the Tiger Forces managed to recapture the sugar plant near Jisr al-Shughur, after seizing the village of Qarta.

[138] According to the SOHR, 14 government soldiers and officers, including the Syrian Brigadier General Kemal Dib, were killed in Jisr al-Shughur.

[139][140] The next day, government forces were confirmed to had seized three points between the al-Alawin checkpoint and Frikka hills, while 24 airstrikes were reported.

[52] Rebels retreated from the village of Sanqarah after temporally seizing it at dawn[162] and claimed to have killed at least 20 soldiers in the hit-and-run attack.

[43] Meanwhile, opposition sources claimed that the Syrian Brigadier General Abdel Razak Abu Khader Raml was killed.

[164] At the end of the day, the rebels launched an assault against the village of Musbin, near Mastouma, and Jabal al-Arbaeen area, near Ariha, after a tunnel bomb was detonated under the al-Fanar military checkpoint.

[168] However, government forces were able to recapture one checkpoint overlooking Ariha overnight, but eventually retreated after rebels launched a second attack the next day.

[155] The next day, government forces reportedly managed to recapture the al-Fanar checkpoint, near Ariha, but were unable to hold al-Kufayr, which they regained 24 hours earlier, and had to abandon it once again due to heavy rebel presence in the surrounding hills.

[44] On 19 May, after several days of violent clashes, rebels took control of Al-Mastumah, its military camp (which was the largest remaining Army base in Idlib in government hands) and Nihlaya after the SAA retreated towards Ariha.

[180] The clashes led to the death of 16 rebels and 15 government fighters, while others were captured, and the destruction of a number of armored vehicles (including tanks).

[184] The next day at 8:00 am,[185] an estimated 150–500 government forces attempted a breakout at the besieged hospital in broad daylight and fled towards the government-controlled area south of Jisr al-Shughur.

[191] Syrian State TV declared the retreat a "victory" amid congratulations by most government supporters, while some voiced criticism.

[193][194] On 28 May, rebels began a large assault on Ariha and were able to enter the eastern districts of the city, whilst fierce fighting continued near the town.

[195][196] Several hours later, opposition forces captured Ariha and Kafr Najd, as government troops retreated towards Urum al-Jawz and Muhambal on the Ariha–Jisr al-Shughur Highway.

[202] The next day, the Syrian Army advanced and seized the areas of Marj al-Zohour and the Zayzoun Dam, near the administrative border between Idlib and Hama.

[207] The rebels continued advancing that day and captured two checkpoints west of Mahambel, including the largest remaining barrier in Idlib.

[218] The Jisr al-Shughur offensive has been described as one of the "largest and most ambitious operations of the Syrian civil war" consisting of some 40 opposition groups, with the main goal being to outflank and interdict Col. Suheil Al Hassan's Tiger forces, who were sent to attempt to push back against the 2015 Idlib offensive, which followed the opposition victory at the Second Battle of Idlib.

[220] Opposition forces were widely reported to be planning to move on the government's stronghold of Latakia, following the capture of Jisr al-Shughur.

[228] As rebels advanced in early June along the Idlib–Latakia highway, fighting intensified in the Latakia District near the Jabal al Akrad mountain range, that overlooks Alawite villages close to Qardaha, the ancestral home of the Assad family.

[230] AL RAI Chief International Correspondent, Elijah J. Magnier, reported that Syria was heading towards partition after recent events in Idlib.

[231] Jane's Information Group stated that the offensive threatened to show president Bashar al-Assad as "incapable even of protecting the coastal mountain areas where the Alawites (his core support base) are concentrated" and speculated Iran would not see him as the primary keeper of their interests in Syria.