BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the conflict in Syria and international diplomatic efforts to end the violence (all times local):

1 p.m.

Hezbollah's TV channel says Syrian government forces are in position to target the final supply route to the rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo, after troops recaptured several strategic hills in the city's northern countryside.

The advance is part of a broader government offensive to isolate the rebel stronghold, which began in earnest last week when troops supported by allied militias and backed by heavy Russian airstrikes retook the villages of Nubul and Zahra.

The new positions south of Zahra allow forces to target the towns of Anadan, Hraytan, and Kafr Hamra, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV says.

Government forces were repelled in an effort to retake the hills earlier this week, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.

The Observatory reports heavy fighting between government and opposition forces a few kilometers south, around the town of Tamoura.