The rebels had reportedly retreated north to the village of Dabaa, which was still partially under rebel control. The rebel retreat, on the evening of 4 June, was reportedly part of an informal understanding that they would be allowed safe passage by the government forces. That enabled the Army and Hezbollah to advance into the city without resistance the next morning. On 6 June, government forces continued attacking the rebel-controlled villages of Dabaa and Eastern Bweida in which at least 15 rebels were killed, according to SOHR. Mopping-up operations dealing with the "final pockets" of rebels were still occurring in al-Qusayr. Rebel commander Colonel Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi, who was leading a convoy of reinforcements from Aleppo to Qusayr, commented that the firepower used by the Syrian government “...was overwhelming. I never saw such a thing in my life.” According to opposition sources between 431 and 500+ rebels were killed and 1,000 were wounded. According to the Syrian government, 1,257 rebels were killed, 1,192 were wounded and 1,000 were captured. Foreign rebel fighters were killed as well, including 30 Lebanese, six Palestinians and one Bahraini. Many rebel commanders were also among the dead. 114 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the fighting, 100 of them by day 11 of the battle. Among the Hezbollah members killed was commander Fadi al-Jazar, as well as Hezbollah leader's brother Khader Nasrallah. 12 government soldiers and militiamen were reported killed on the first day of the battle and another 11 were killed and 25 wounded during the last day. Refugees who fled to Arsal in Lebanon, later described their ordeal to be horrific. Several accounts were recorded mentioning the cases of families being killed by Hezbollah forces, and their money and possessions stolen. A number of testimonies indicated targeting of families by government forces who refused to leave their homes. The battle for Qusayr was considered by both sides in the conflict to be critical. For the Syrian government and Hezbollah, the capture of al-Qusayr allowed the Syrian government to link Homs to Damascus, reinforcing Homs and connecting Army forces to the Mediterranean coast and the port of Tartous. For Hezbollah this was about protecting their assets and supporters in Lebanon from rebel attacks. For the rebels, al-Qusayr was a major supply route for both supplies from Lebanon and Lebanese Sunni fighters who cross the border to fight alongside the rebels in Syria. In the past rebels also used this route to cross into Lebanon to avoid government forces, and used Lebanon as a base to trade fire with government soldiers.