Once the threat had passed, the Army launched the new offensive against rebel positions, primarily in the southern suburbs of Damascus.

On 10 September, the military and pro-government militiamen made a push into Barzeh in an attempt to capture the district as three air raids were conducted against the suburb.

[14] On 9 October, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite fighters, backed up by artillery, air-strikes and tanks, attacked and captured the town of Sheikh Omar, on the southern outskirts of Damascus.

[15] On 11 October, Army troops and pro-government Shia fighters captured the two southern suburbs of al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya near Damascus, killing at least 70 people.

[16] The capture of the three towns, located between the two main highways leading to Jordan, strengthened the government hold on major supply lines and put more pressure on rebels under siege in the Eastern Ghouta area.

[17] On 16 October, the Army, with the help of Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militants from the Abul Fadl al-Abbas brigade, captured the strategic town of Bweida, south of Damascus.

[18] On 23 October, the Army sealed any remaining smuggling routes into Eastern Ghouta and intensified its blockade over the region.

[19] At this point, there were indications that the military was preparing to start a new phase of its offensive, which will target the Western Ghouta area, south of Damascus.

[21] Only hours later, some 40 al-Nusra and Liwa al-Islam rebels were killed in an ambush by the Syrian Army near the town of Otaybah, northeast of the International Airport.

[26] On 7 November, the Army, backed by Hezbollah, the Al-Abbas brigade and the National Defense Force, retook the key town of Al-Sabinah, south of Damascus.

[28] By the afternoon, the Army and its allies advanced in Hejeira al-Balad[29] while the military launched an attack against rebel positions in Hajar al-Aswad.

[38][39] The next day, according to the opposition activist group the SOHR, three generals and a brigadier-general were among 31 troops killed in a bomb attack that caused a building in the Army transport base in Harasta to collapse.

[43] On 22 November,[7] rebel forces made an attempt to break the blockade of Eastern Ghouta by attacking the town of Otaiba[44] and a string of military checkpoints encircling the opposition-held Damascus suburbs.

[59] According to Lebanese media, 1,000 rebels were killed during the opposition offensive in Eastern Ghouta, including top military commanders.

[63] On 13 December, the military surrounded Adra[63] and started an operation to push out rebel fighters from the area,[65] making advances in the town during the day.