ISTANBUL

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Tuesday dismissed reports claiming the United States encouraged Syria to deploy forces in Lebanon as “false and inaccurate.”

Barrack took to the US social media company X’s platform to refute a Reuters report published the same day which said “the United States has encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being drawn into the Middle East conflict and heightening sectarian tensions."

Reuters further reported that the idea of a Syrian cross-border operation was first discussed between US and Syrian officials last year and resurfaced around the start of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

It based the article on talks with 10 sources: six Syrian officials and advisors, two Western diplomats, a European official and a Western intelligence source.

Sources speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the issue told Reuters that Syria’s government had been carefully weighing the plan but remained hesitant to act.

The article also quoted a senior Syrian official, noting that Damascus and its Arab allies had agreed that Syria should remain out of the conflict and limit its actions to defensive measures.

More than 900 people have died in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, with 912 fatalities and 2,221 injuries reported by the country’s Health Ministry as of March 17.

The Israeli army announced Tuesday that its 36th Division had joined efforts to expand a ground incursion into southern Lebanon following the start of a new operation the previous day which reportedly pushed 7–9 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah began striking Israeli military sites on March 2 in response to continued Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that took effect in November 2024 and also due to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.

Israel escalated the same day with airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern and eastern Lebanon and launched a limited ground incursion on March 3.