(AFP, Beirut, 23rd) While Israel is fighting the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in Gaza, it is also exchanging fire across the border with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite fundamentalist militia organization, and the firepower is getting increasingly fierce. But does Hezbollah really seek open conflict with Israel?
Hamas raided Israel on the 7th, killing at least 1,400 people; Israel subsequently launched air strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza, killing more than 5,000 Palestinians so far. Both sides said most of the dead were civilians.
In addition, Israel and Hezbollah (Hezbollah) exchange fire almost every day across the Israeli-Lebanese border. At least 41 people were killed on the Lebanese side, mostly combatants, but also including 4 civilians, one of whom was a Reuters reporter; on the Israeli side, 4 people were killed, including 3 soldiers and 1 civilian.
● Why does Hezbollah support Hamas?
Hezbollah was formed in the 1980s to fight Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon and is currently the only faction allowed to retain weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
In 2006, a bloody conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah. More than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, most of them civilians; 160 people were killed in Israel, mostly soldiers.
Sources close to Hezbollah previously told AFP on condition of anonymity that Hezbollah, the Sunni Muslim group Hamas and the Quds Force have long been members of the “Joint Operations Room” . The Quds Force is a special forces unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations.
These groups are members of the so-called “axis of resistance.” The “Axis of Resistance” refers to Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and other anti-Israel armed groups backed by Iran.
Michael Young of the think tank Carnegie Middle East Center said Hezbollah supports Hamas because, ideologically, the two “share the same wavelength in opposing Israel.”
He said that the “Axis of Resistance” has always tried to highlight that they are not just a Shia Muslim group. “The reason why it has cross-sectarian characteristics is that the Sunni Hamas role is very important.”
Young pointed out that “Hamas is at the core of the Palestinian issue, which is closely related to the revolutionary orientation of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.”
● What is Hezbollah’s strength?
Hezbollah is the most well-known political and military organization in Lebanon. Its arsenal, including ballistic missiles, is considered by the outside world to be more powerful than the Lebanese government’s military armaments.
Iran provides financial and military support to Hezbollah, while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The government of Bashar al-Assad is responsible for accelerating the transfer of weapons.
Since the end of the conflict in 2006, Lebanon’s southern border has been patrolled by United Nations peacekeeping forces, and no military deployment by Hezbollah is visible.
However, the expert team and the media stated that Hezbollah actually has strongholds, hideouts, and tunnels in the area, and its members have a very thorough grasp of the local terrain.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in October 2021 that this group has 100,000 armed fighters at its disposal and has broad support for its activities in southern Lebanon.
Nasral has boasted for years that his team’s weapons could penetrate deep into Israel.
● Will Hezbollah go further?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the 22nd of this month that Hezbollah would make a “huge mistake” if it went to war with Israel.
Analysts previously told AFP whether the situation worsened could depend on an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.
Imad Salamey, a political analyst at the Lebanese American University, said Hezbollah may escalate its attacks but “does not want to distract from the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Young of the Carnegie Middle East Center said that Hezbollah’s activities are intended to lure the Israeli military away from Gaza, thereby “stalling or hindering” the Israeli military’s advance in Gaza.
Furthermore, both Salameh and Young doubted whether Iran would plunge Hezbollah into an all-out conflict with Israel simply to relieve pressure on Hamas.
“I don’t think Iran wants to sacrifice Hezbollah, and I don’t think it thinks it’s necessary,” Young said. “Hezbollah can enter the fray within certain limits.”
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2023-10-24 09:20:05