Since its creation, the political and military organization of Lebanese origin has considered Israel and the United States as its main enemies.
Last Sunday, August 25, 2024, Hezbollah launched more than 300 rockets and drones against 11 military targets in Israel .
The offensive was responded to by the Israeli army, which said it had attacked Lebanon with a hundred planes “as a preventive measure” to thwart a larger-scale attack.
This confrontation was positioned as one of the most important since October 7, 2023 date on which Hamas militants carried out their attacks against Israel.
From this moment on, The troops of the Lebanese-origin group and those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have constantly clashed on the border they share, in parallel with what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
Following the episode of August 25, At least three deaths have been reported in Lebanon and one in Israel according to the news agency Reuters .
Hezbollah called the operation a first phase of their retaliation for the murder of Fouad Choukr a senior commander of his organization killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut in late July 2024.
Escalation of the conflict has intensified concerns for the situation in the Middle East.
According to analysts on international issues BBC , Neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants to push for a full-scale war between the two factions.
However, the possibility that they will stop their attacks seems remote .
A wider conflict between Hezbollah and Israel This could mean that Iran and the United States would be directly involved .
In this sense, experts have suggested that Gaza ceasefire deal essential to reduce tensions in the region.
What is Hezbollah and what is its origin?
Its name translates to “Party of God”. It is a Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group backed by Iran and based in Lebanon .
Lebanese politics specialist at the study center Middle East Institute (MEI) in the United States, Firas Maksad, assured the aforementioned media that “Hezbollah is currently the most powerful non-state military force in the world” .
At present It is directed by Hassan Nasrallah who has been the group’s secretary general since 1992.
Hezbollah was born after Israel invaded part of southern Lebanon in 1982. .
This measure by the Israeli authorities was retaliation for a series of attacks by Palestinian militants such as the attempted assassination of its ambassador to the United Kingdom.
In the midst of this situation, some Shiite leaders in Lebanon They organized themselves to present a military response to the offensive They therefore separated from the Amal movement.
This way, They formed a group called Amal Islamique which received support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
SOThis organization joined forces with others to create Hezbollah, an organization that officially announced its creation in 1985. .
They then presented an “open letter” in which They declared themselves enemies of powers such as the United States and the Soviet Union. according to the BBC.
Along with this, expressed their intention to destroy Israel whom they consider to be “the hated enemy that we must fight until those who are hated get what they deserve.”
“East the greatest danger to our future generations and the fate of our lands “especially because it glorifies the ideas of colonization and expansion initiated in Palestine,” they added in their writings.
The United States, Israel and other Arab League countries consider Hezbollah an extremist organization. and they accused her of carrying out various attacks.
For his part, The European Union has also listed the group’s military wing. of terrorist organizations.
Since the early 1990s, Hezbollah has begun to play an active role in Lebanese politics. In 1992, the organization participated in national elections for the first time. .
In this case, It is the party that won the most seats .
Already in 2009, they shared a second manifesto in which They stressed their “political vision” .
Unlike the first, In this, they did not mention the need to create an Islamic Republic. .
Nevertheless, They stressed their opposition to Israel and the United States. .
How much firepower does Hezbollah have?
The IEDM specialist assured that currently, Hezbollah is ‘exponentially more powerful’ than it was ten years ago .
In fact, it is stated that Its military capabilities are superior to those of the army from Lebanon.
In Maksad’s words, the group “has gained much more experience fighting in the Syrian war and training and supporting pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Yemen.
“We believe that Its military arsenal is also much larger and more precise. in terms of missiles, compared to 2006,” he added to the aforementioned media.
Hassan Nasrallah detailed in 2021 that They have about 100,000 soldiers in his troops.
However, other independent analyses suggest that There are between 20,000 and 50,000 of them. .
He Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), based in the United States, believes that They have between 120,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles in their arsenal. .
According to the United States Department of State, Most of the funding and support Hezbollah receives comes from Iran. .
Firas Maksad stressed that his weapons exceed the capabilities of those used by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A full-scale war between the Lebanese group and Israel would be “devastating” .
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
