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Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, is reportedly bolstering its military presence along Israel’s northern border, raising concerns among experts about the potential for renewed conflict. This development follows a ceasefire facilitated by the U.S. just a year ago between the two adversaries.
On Wednesday, Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), accused Hezbollah of “blatantly violating the ceasefire agreement.” Shoshani also released a video purportedly showing Hezbollah’s rearming activities, asserting that the group is “working to restore its capabilities in the village of Beit Lif.”
Observers criticize the U.N. peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, for allegedly failing to enforce the disarmament of Hezbollah, and they say the Lebanese Armed Forces are not acting swiftly enough. This perceived inaction has prompted Israel to conduct frequent strikes targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure and personnel within Lebanon.
In a related incident, Hezbollah fighters recently attended the funeral of their commander, Wissam al-Tawil, in the village of Khirbet Selm, southern Lebanon. This event highlights ongoing tensions in Lebanon regarding Hezbollah’s influence, exacerbated by its involvement in border skirmishes with Israel, and fears that Lebanon, already grappling with internal crises, might be drawn into a broader conflict. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Sarit Zehavi, an Israeli security analyst specializing in Hezbollah at the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, shared with Fox News Digital that Hezbollah currently lacks the capacity for a significant offensive, akin to the situation before October 7, 2023. Zehavi stated that while Hezbollah might infiltrate a few operatives, she anticipates that it could take several years for them to rebuild their previous capabilities.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported last year on Hezbollah’s war plan to invade northern Israel and carry out a scorched-earth campaign against the Jewish state.
A day after the Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and massacred over 1,200 people, Hezbollah launched missile attacks against Israel.
A strike against Hezbollah that the Israeli Air Force says was carried out overnight. (Israeli Air Force)
Zehavi said, “Both the IDF and Hezbollah are very active. The IDF is very active to stop the rehabilitation of Hezbollah and Hezbollah is very active in rebuilding. Hezbollah learned lessons. It has been more problematic to smuggle weapons to Lebanon from Syria. It is happening. But the Syrians intercepted weapons.”
She noted that the “Syrian regime is willing to fight Hezbollah to fight weapons smuggling. Hezbollah is relying more on manufacturing rockets.”
Zehavi, who lives in northern Israel, said that “almost half of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah are south of the Litani river. We see a lot of investment from Hezbollah in drones, short-range rockets, mortars and anti-tank missiles.”
On Tuesday in Germany, prosecutors started a trial against an alleged Hezbollah member running “an extensive drone program for some time.”
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office said the suspected Hezbollah operative Fadel Z joined Hezbollah more than 10 years ago and worked as a “foreign operator” for the group’s drone program in 2022 in Spain and Germany.
Zehavi said it suffered a defeat of its leadership via the Mossad pager attack on its commanders. However, she added, “Iran immediately provided oxygen to Hezbollah for treatment to help revive Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of four fallen comrades who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, Sept. 18. (Bilal Hussein/ AP)
She outlined Israel’s main defense strategy against Hezbollah. First, the IDF has positions in Syria and Lebanon. “We cannot have civilians on the front line. The IDF is on top of hills in Israel and Lebanon and can see everything and can respond quickly to terrorist activities. This means when an Israeli woman opens her window and used to see a Hezbollah flag, she now sees an Israeli flag. This gives her a sense of security. This was not present before Oct. 7.
She estimates Hezbollah has 50,000 terrorists and 50,000 reservists. “We killed a few thousand terrorists.”
The IDF made dramatic advances in eradicating Hezbollah’s missile arsenal. “We degraded 80%” of the rockets, Zehavi said, noting the elimination of sizable numbers of Hezbollah’s long-range and highly accurate missiles.
Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar of Hezbollah, said, “There is no lack of arms for Hezbollah in Beirut and Lebanon. Lately, we saw many reports that Hezbollah received arms from Syria and Iran is trying to send arms by civilian Iranian airplanes.”
Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are taking part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta bordering Israel on May 21, 2023 ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He said there is enormous pressure on Hezbollah and every week Israel is killing Hezbollah operative. The Shiite community in Lebanon wants Hezbollah to retaliate against Israel, said Cohen, adding, “For the Shiite community Hezbollah is the state.”
Cohen said the IDF is gathering intelligence information about Hezbollah’s arsenal and attacking almost every day its leaders and operatives.
Hezbollah terrorists are taking part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta, bordering Israel, on May 21, 2023 ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Image)
He warned that because “Hezbollah said it will not disarm its militia … the big war will come.”
Fox News Digital reported in early November that Trump’s U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrack, who also serves as envoy to Syria, said that Lebanon is a “failed state,” because of its “paralyzed government.”
He also noted that Hezbollah retains 40,000 fighters and between 15,000 and 20,000 rockets and missiles, noting the terror group pays its militia $2,200 per month, whereas the Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers earn $275 a month and have inferior equipment as well.