The Israeli military has announced that its troops have entered Lebanon to conduct a “limited localised and targeted” operation against Hezbollah.
Lebanese officials claim that more than 1,000 people were killed by Israeli air strikes in the last two weeks. Hezbollah responded by firing hundreds rockets into northern Israel.
What is Hezbollah? Has it ever fought Israel?
Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and armed group, is a powerful Shia Muslim party.
It has a significant influence in the Lebanese government and parliament, and controls the strongest armed forces in the country.
Hezbollah gained prominence in the 1980s as a result of its opposition to Israel. Israel’s forces had occupied the southern part of Lebanon during the civil war that raged in the country from 1975-1990.
Iran has been a strong supporter of the country, both financially as well as militarily, for a number of years. It is a strong ally to the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad.
Hezbollah’s armed wing carried out deadly attacks against Israeli and US forces.
Hezbollah claimed credit for driving Israeli troops out of Lebanon in 2000. It continues to oppose Israel’s presence in disputed areas along the border.
In 2006, Hezbollah launched a deadly raid across the border with Israel.
Israeli troops invaded the southern part of Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah’s threat. Hezbollah has claimed victory, despite the fact that more than 1,000 civilians died during the conflict.
The group has been designated as a terror organisation by Western countries, Israel and Gulf Arab States.
How much political support has Hezbollah received?
Hezbollah is a major political force in Lebanon and has been involved in the national elections since 1992.
The group and its supporters lost their majority in the parliament in the 2022 elections, but no new government has been formed since and they continue to have ministers within the caretaker administration.
Hezbollah has caused a deep division in Lebanon. Although the group enjoys considerable popular support, many critics accuse it of political corruption and oppose their military capabilities, believing they are a significant factor in the conflicts in the country.
Hezbollah is a powerful political force that operates schools, hospitals and cultural institutions in Lebanon.
How strong is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah is a powerful group with thousands of fighters in southern Lebanon and a vast arsenal of missiles.
It is one the most heavily-armed non-state militaries in the world. It is funded by Iran and equipped with Iranian weapons.
The organization claims to have 100,000 fighters. However, independent estimates place the number between 20,000-50,000.
Many of them are well-trained, battle-hardened and have fought the civil war in Syria.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hezbollah is estimated to have between 120,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles.
The majority of its arsenal is composed of small, unguided surface-to-surface artillery missiles.
It is also believed to have anti-aircraft, anti-ship and guided missiles that can strike deep inside Israel.
It has far more sophisticated weapons than Hamas in Gaza.
Hassan Nasrallah is a Shia cleric who has led Hezbollah since 1992.
Israel announced that it had killed Nasrallah on 28 September in an air strike over Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death a few days later.
Nasrallah played a crucial role in transforming Hezbollah from a military force to a political one.
He had close ties with Iran and its Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
It is not clear who will lead Hezbollah going forward.
How has the conflict escalated between Hezbollah & Israel?
Israel has launched an offensive after a year-long cross-border conflict sparked by the Gaza war.
The previously sporadic violence escalated on 8th October 2023. This was the day following the unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen on Israel.
Hezbollah launched more than 8,500 rockets since then at northern Israel, including the Israeli-occupied Golan Height. It has also fired antitank missiles on armoured vehicles, and attacked military targets using explosive drones.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in response, launched air strikes as well as artillery and tank fire against Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon.
On 17 September, Israel wanted to ensure that residents of border regions who had been displaced due to Hezbollah’s attacks could return safely.
In air strikes, it appears to have killed more than a half dozen top Hezbollah leaders and destroyed thousands of weapons.
It was also blamed in the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies that left thousands Hezbollah fighters blinded, maimed or killed.
Hezbollah, despite being weakened, has continued to fire rockets at northern Israel. It is believed to still possess a formidable arsenal long-range missiles.