Lebanon (MNN) — It’s been nine days of a strained ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Now Lebanon is watching a surge of conflict in neighboring Syria.

“There is another part of this ceasefire that I don’t think a lot of people talk about. Even though it’s not connected, it is connected: the fighting up in the province of Aleppo in Syria,” says Tom Atema with Heart for Lebanon.

“Hezbollah used to be up there quite heavily, but they put a lot of their soldiers out, moved them to southern Lebanon to fight with Israel, and left a vacuum.”

Rebel groups took the chance to push against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad yet again. They launched a surprise offensive in Aleppo on the very same day the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

It’s developed into the most significant change in the Syrian war’s frontlines since 2020. Today rebels led by the insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham control Aleppo and Hama, two of Syria’s largest cities, and many miles of surrounding territory (see a map tracker here).

Hezbollah has declared support for the Syrian government against the rebel forces, referring to them as “terrorist groups.”One analyst says the rebel’s next attempt will probably be to take over Homs, a key crossroads city less than 25 miles from the Lebanon border.

“[The conflict] is making the potential of a lot of Christian Syrians coming into Lebanon, [fleeing] the violence there. So we’ve geared up for maybe 100 to 200 families that we think might be coming our way in the next week or two,” Atema says.

Heart for Lebanon has distributed humanitarian aid in a relational, gospel-centered way for the past year of war and beyond.

“We provide most everything they (refugees) need to start that new life [in Lebanon]. That starts to build their dignity back. It starts to build trust in who we are and what we stand for. Ultimately, and very shortly, [it] draws us into a conversation to build a relationship with them,” Atema says. “Then a gospel message is presented later on when appropriate.”

Pray for wisdom and Spirit-led conversations for the Heart for Lebanon team. Consider partnering with them in ministry to the displaced (learn more about that here).

Header photo: Map of the Northwestern Syria offensive, dated December 3, 2024. Image courtesy of Ecrusized & Rr016 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.