JERUSALEM

Thousands of militia fighters and mercenaries from three Arab countries have arrived near the occupied Golan Heights in Syria, possibly to support Hezbollah in its ongoing clashes with the Israeli forces, an Israeli daily claimed in its report published on Tuesday, without providing any evidence.

The Israeli army has carried out waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since early Monday, killing nearly 560 people, including 95 women and 50 children, and injuring 1,835 more, according to Health Minister Firas Abiad.

The Israeli army has “followed with concern the roughly 40,000 militia fighters and mercenaries who came to Syria from a number of countries including Iraq, Yemen and Syria,” Haaretz daily claimed, citing unnamed sources in Israel’s military establishment.

These forces are reportedly “now in the vicinity of the Golan Heights, waiting for (Hezbollah chief Hassan) Nasrallah's call to join the fighting,” the daily continue to claim in its report, without providing substantial evidence of the large number.

"They're not elite fighters, but neither is the Nukhba Force, and nevertheless we saw what a force of 2,000 to 3,000 gunmen can do when they surprise and attack a community," the daily said, quoting these sources and referring to the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks.

“If the need arises, we will also act in Syria to make it clear to (President Bashar) Assad that we are no longer accept their presence there,” the newspaper quoted an unknown security official as saying.

As of yet, Damascus, Hezbollah, and Tel Aviv have not issued an official response to the report.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,500 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

Israeli forces intensified their attacks on Lebanon, ignoring the international community's warnings that they would risk spreading the Gaza conflict to other regions.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio