The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has strongly condemned the assassination of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Rasoul Shahoud in an attack in Syria’s central province of Homs, describing it as a heinous act aimed at destroying Syria's unity and creating turmoil and insecurity in the Arab nation.

Hezbollah said in a statement on Saturday that the targeted killing perpetrated by criminal and treacherous people was also meant to ignite sectarian and religious strife among various strata of the Syrian society.

The group further noted that the grave crime targeted a scholarly and religious figure who devoted his whole life to serving Islam and Syrian society, supported young people in their educational and faith-based journeys, and was a sincere preacher of the truth, besides being a true defender of the oppressed.

“The crime requires vehement denunciation from various seminary bodies as well as scientific and spiritual institutions,” Hezbollah added.

The Lebanese resistance movement underlined the need for the persecution of the culprits and holding them to account for the atrocity.

It also demanded that anyone proven to be involved or complicit in this heinous crime must stand trial.

“We are fully confident that Syrian people will reject this extremist ideology, which threatens the unity of the society, undermines stability, and targets every moderate opinion and enlightened thought,” Hezbollah pointed out.

The security situation in Syria under the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist group - remains tenuous.

Incidents of sectarian violence, including the massacre of hundreds of Alawites in March, have hardened fears among minority groups about the now dominant militants.

Since Bashar al-Assad’s government collapsed on December 8, 2024, Syria has also been plagued by a widespread Israeli occupation across large swathes of the country’s south.

It has also been hit by hundreds of Israeli airstrikes, mainly targeting military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army.

Israel has been widely condemned for the termination of the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, and for exploiting the chaos in the Arab nation in the wake of Assad’s downfall to make a land grab.

The United Nations has condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and continued violations in and around the buffer zone created as part of the 1974 agreement with Damascus.

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