The clashes primarily revolve around geopolitical animosities and Captagon smuggling issues, as the new Syrian government seeks to prevent Iranian weapon transfers to Hezbollah.

[12] On 11 January 2025, Syrian head of state Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, reaching an agreement to secure the border between the two countries and prevent illegal smuggling as a top priority.

[13] On 14 December 2024, a raid on Al-Mazra'a in Homs Governorate, regarded as a significant Hezbollah stronghold, was launched by the Syrian Military Operations Command, resulting in the arrests of dozens of young men accused of committing previous violations against the people of the area.

[14] On the same day, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem declared his intention to establish a working relationship with the new HTS-led interim government to restore its weapons supply route in Syria.

"[18] It subsequently entered Haweek, a border town in the Hermel region in northeastern Lebanon frequently used for smuggling, after repelling Hezbollah's attempt to advance into Al-Qusayr.

[25][26] Additionally, Lebanese Shia clans, including the Jaafar, Zaiter, Noun, Jamal, and Rachini families, announced their withdrawal from Syria to Lebanon "to avoid any friction."

Shia clans in the northern part of the Beqaa Valley expressed "dismay" at the "total and unjustified abandonment" by the Lebanese state, which they said forced them to defend the country themselves.

[27] The Syrian Ministry of Defense deployed additional military reinforcements to the Al-Qusayr countryside in western Homs as it continued to clash with what it called "remnants of the Assad regime and drug traffickers.

"[29] Western diplomatic sources noted that Hezbollah's decision to not be officially involved in the conflict "signals a shift in their operational approach," as they currently resort to "acting through local tribes in the region, orchestrating events from behind the scenes" as opposed to how they would have intervened directly in the past.

Diplomatic sources also expressed concern that the conflict could adopt a sectarian dimension, given that Lebanese border villages are exclusively Shia while the new Syrian government is largely Sunni and "perceived as linked to Daesh, oppressing a minority.