Hezbollah Offering Direct Help to Syrian Army, Rebels Say AL QAA, Lebanon - As the civil war in Syria continues, evidence is accumulating that Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shiite party, is helping Syrian government forces on the ground across the border in their fight against the rebel Free Syrian Army. "It is not a secret anymore," said a Sunni Muslim resident in Al Qaa, a town in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. "This is a sign that the regime has a problem defending itself," said the man, who gave his name as Abu Obeida and declined to be fully identified because he had ties to the rebel Free Syrian Army. Syrian activists and rebels, and opponents of Hezbollah in Lebanon, have long accused the Islamist party of taking a direct role in the Syrian conflict, but until recently, evidence was thin. Recently, however, a spate of funerals in the Bekaa Valley for Hezbollah members - including a military commander - killed while performing "jihad duties" has provided firmer signs that the organization is sending men to fight in Syria. Free Syrian Army fighters in towns around the city of Qusayr, just across the border from Lebanon, say that Hezbollah is reinforcing government troops engaged in a hard-fought offensive in the area. Last week, the Free Syrian Army, saying that it had captured 13 Hezbollah fighters near Qusayr, threatened to strike Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut. The rebels said the recent Hezbollah funerals were for men killed in Syria. Free Syrian Army rebels also say that Hezbollah has for several weeks been launching Katyusha and Grad rockets at Syrian targets from territory that it controls in the northeastern Bekaa Valley. Late Monday night, outgoing rocket fire could be heard on a rural road outside Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold north of Al Qaa, about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, from the border - a distance indicating that the rockets were being fired from inside Lebanon. While consistently asserting its support for President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah has denied direct involvement in Syria. Still, earlier this week, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, charged that Hezbollah was now an active part what she called Mr. Assad's "killing machine." The implications for Lebanon are potentially serious: A sustained and significant involvement by Lebanese parties in the Syrian conflict would risk exacerbating a tense situation. If unchecked, such activity could lead to an "uncontrollable situation" in Lebanon, said Imad Salamey, an associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that while Hezbollah was clearly involved in Syria, the military strength of the organization could limit the repercussions in Lebanon. "There's no capacity in Lebanon to confront them," Mr. Salem said. Still, "if two or three years down the line the rebels finally prevail, then Hezbollah would have been part of the civil war and the rebels may take the war to Lebanon in one way or another," he added. Mr. Salamey said that for now, Hezbollah's role is probably limited to special operations, technical assistance and security along some border areas. A larger intervention, he said, would be undesirable for the organization and harmful to its strategic standing in Lebanon. But "having Hezbollah play a role in undermining the ability of the Syrian resistance to cross and move freely along the border provides the Syrian regime with significant backing," he said. Otherwise, the Syrian Army would have to fight so many wars. At various points along the border, which is crossed by vital supply routes for some Free Syrian Army units, the war is a reality on the Lebanese side of the demarcation line. The village of Masharih al-Qaa - a string of farmhouses stretched along rough dirt tracks skimming the border - is one. In Masharih al-Qaa, the hiss of rocket fire, rattle of automatic weaponry and thud of artillery continuously puncture the night. By day, shelling continues and helicopter gunships circle high overhead. Some of the shells and bullets land in Lebanon - sometimes stray rounds but sometimes seemingly targeted, local residents say. Syrian government forces "are opening fire on us every day," said Ali Hujairi. Day and night, they are striking this area.