Hezbollah supporters paying tribute to the victims of an Israeli airstrike, in Dahiyeh, near Beirut. Photo / Diego Ibarra Sanchez, The New York Times
Hezbollah supporters paying tribute to the victims of an Israeli airstrike, in Dahiyeh, near Beirut. Photo / Diego Ibarra Sanchez, The New York Times
A series of attacks has drawn attention to the Iran-backed militia. Here’s what to know about the organisation.
A series of attacks apparently targeting the wireless devices of Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon has drawn attention to the Iran-backed militia – which the United States designated as a foreignterrorist organisation decades ago.
Here’s what to know about the militant group.
What is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group formed in the 1980s from the chaos of Lebanon’s long civil war to fight the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. The name Hezbollah is Arabic for “Party of God”.
In recent decades, Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most effective political party and fighting force, and has expanded its operations into Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East. In Lebanon, it has deep roots in parts of society and an extensive apparatus to support its mission, including offices dedicated to social services, communications and internal security.
Hezbollah and its political allies lost their majority in Lebanon’s Parliament in elections in 2022, but the group remains a formidable political force that exercises de facto control over parts of the country, including southern Lebanon, which borders northern Israel.
Why are Hezbollah and Israel fighting now?
Hezbollah’s military wing has been targeting northern Israel for nearly a year in solidarity with Hamas and its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire almost daily since October 7, when Hamas led attacks in Israel that killed an estimated 1200 people, and world leaders fear the fighting could escalate into a wider regional war.
Hezbollah, formed with the support of Iran, still maintains close financial, spiritual and military ties to the nation, a Shiite Islamic republic. Hezbollah is part of what Iran calls its “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Of the Iranian proxy groups, Hezbollah is widely viewed among military analysts as the most powerful and influential, and it represents the most serious military threat to Israel. Iran is believed to have supplied Hezbollah with powerful missiles that could strike most Israeli cities. World leaders have been scrambling to prevent an escalation of the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, fearing an all-out war could draw in Iran and destabilise the region.
The site of an Israeli airstrike in the suburbs of Beirut last week. Photo / Diego Ibarra Sanchez, The New York Times
Who are Hezbollah’s members?
Hezbollah goes to great lengths to keep the identities of its fighters secret, so much so that they often become known to their neighbours only when their deaths are announced. A secondary effect of the attacks on Hezbollah’s devices this week could be to blow that cover, leaving operatives with visible wounds that indicate their links to the group.
How does the United States view Hezbollah?
Hezbollah was involved in the suicide bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut in 1983, drawing the enmity of the United States. The United States designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in 1997, and has long sanctioned people and companies with ties to the group to try to cut off its funding.
Amos Hochstein, one of President Joe Biden’s trusted national security advisers, has made at least six trips to Israel and Lebanon since the war in Gaza began last year, and speaks regularly with Lebanese officials in an effort to stop the conflict from escalating. He is the rare American who has been allowed to move freely on Hezbollah turf in Lebanon.
