From March 2 until a 10-day ceasefire went into force on Friday, Hezbollah was battling Israel after drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at its foe.

In a statement, Syria's interior ministry said security forces in Quneitra province in the south "thwarted a sabotage plot orchestrated by a cell" linked to Hezbollah and that "aimed to destabilise the region".

The area borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The statement said the cell had used a civilian vehicle to hide equipment for launching rockets, and said "a number of those involved" were arrested.

Earlier, the ministry said the cell "was working to carry out an attack from inside Syrian territory on targets" outside its borders.

It said the Quneitra incident was the latest of "several attempts to destabilise the country and undermine public security involving remnants of the former regime and unscrupulous individuals linked to Hezbollah".

Hezbollah in a statement said it categorically denied the "false and fabricated" allegations, and reiterated that "it has no presence in Syrian territory" or activities there.

Syrian authorities are hostile to Hezbollah, which fought alongside the forces of now ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the country's civil war which ended in 2024.

Under Assad, Syria was part of Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah, but Syria's new Islamist authorities have rejected Iranian influence.

Last week, Syria accused Hezbollah of being linked to a cell that attempted to plant an explosive device near a house belonging to a religious figure in Damascus.

Hezbollah denied that accusation and said that "intelligence services" on Syrian soil were "seeking to inflame tensions between Lebanon and Syria".

In February, Syria said it had dismantled a cell responsible for attacks targeting Damascus's Mazzeh district, claiming the weapons came from Hezbollah, which also denied involvement.