After nearly a year of exchanging fire, Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group are now locked in a fierce conflict that threatens to escalate into full-scale war.
Hezbollah is a much stronger opponent for Israel than Hamas in Gaza. Many consider the Iran-backed group the most powerful paramilitary force in the region.
However, Hezbollah also has a powerful political and social wing in Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warns Israel. His group has new weapons and abilities. They released footage filmed from a drone deep in northern Israel, showing other installations far from the port of Haifa and the Lebanon-Israel border.
In the past few days, they have struck deeper into Israel than at any time in the past year.
What is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War and its primary goal was to end Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. After a long battle for their positions, Hezbollah achieved their goal in 2000, when they forced Israel to withdraw.
But then Hezbollah continued to fight with the goal of destroying Israel.
The Shiite Muslim organization Hezbollah is part of the Iran-backed group and government known as the ‘Axis of Resistance’. Hezbollah was the first group Iran supported and used to promote political Islam.
Hezbollah is not just an armed group, it is a political party. They have lawmakers in Lebanon’s parliament and have had representatives in the country’s various governments for decades.
They also have extensive social service activities. They run schools and health care centers in South Lebanon and other parts of the country. They have a strong presence in those areas.
Truck bomb at US base
Initially, they carried out attacks targeting the United States, which led Washington to designate them as a terrorist group.
These attacks included the kidnapping of an American citizen in Beirut and the 1983 truck bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 American soldiers.
Iran’s support has helped Hezbollah strengthen its position as the most powerful political group in Lebanon. At the same time, they are the most well-armed of the Iranian-backed military groups in the entire Middle East,’ says Leena Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
Hezbollah fighters took two Israeli soldiers hostage in a cross-border raid in 2006. This led to a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah. The war was neither won nor lost, but the fighting brought great destruction to southern Lebanon.
Israel’s goal in the war was to eliminate Hezbollah. But this Lebanese group emerged stronger from the war, and became a major military and political force on Israel’s northern border.
Domestic opponents have criticized Hezbollah for keeping its weapons stockpile and dominating the government.
Hezbollah’s image was tarnished in May 2008, when it briefly occupied parts of Beirut. Hezbollah took control of part of the city after the Lebanese government took action against Hezbollah’s own telecom network.
What is the military capability of Hezbollah?
Hezbollah is the most prominent paramilitary force in the Arab world, with a solid organizational infrastructure and large arsenal. They claim they have a hundred thousand warriors.
Hezbollah’s military capabilities have grown exponentially in recent years. They have played a role in keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power in the Syrian civil war. They have trained Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
According to Israeli estimates, Hezbollah has 150,000 rockets and missiles, including guided missiles and long-range weapons capable of hitting any part of Israel.
During the current conflict with Israel, Hezbollah has periodically added new weapons to its arsenal.
Initially, Hezbollah used anti-tank rockets and missiles. But later they used explosive-carrying drones and surface-to-air missiles for the first time.
Nasrallah said the drones are locally produced and Hezbollah has many.
They suffered a terrible blow recently, when thousands of communication devices used by their members exploded in different parts of Lebanon. The explosion killed 39 people and injured 3,000, mostly civilians.
The attack exposed the lack of security in Hezbollah’s equipment supply lines, which was humiliating for them. Israel was blamed for the attack.
Israel has recently killed several senior leaders of Hezbollah, including its top military commander.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah?
Nasrallah was born in 1960 to a poor Shia family in Burj Hamoud, a suburb of Beirut. They later moved to southern Lebanon. After studying theology, Nasrallah joined the Shiite political and paramilitary organization Amal.
He is one of the founders of Hezbollah.
After the then head of Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 1992, Nasrallah was elected as the group’s leader.
Nasrallah is widely popular for driving Israel out of southern Lebanon and leading the 2006 war. In many countries of the Arab world, including Lebanon, Syria, his picture adorns large billboards and various items in souvenir shops.
But Nasrallah has also faced much criticism from opponents in Lebanon, particularly those who accuse him of tying the country’s fate to Iran.
Nasrallah is also regarded as a pragmatist who is capable of political compromise.
He has been living in hiding for years, fearing Israel might kill him, and his speeches are recorded and broadcast from an unknown location.