The world is still reeling from the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the subsequent Israeli retaliation and anticipated ground attack on the Gaza Strip Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged gunfire along the border after surprise attacks on Israel killed at least 1,400 people. Meanwhile, retaliatory Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have so far killed dozens of Palestinians, while Hezbollah said it was “fully prepared” to help fight Israel. Hezbollah is supported by Iran, while the United States deployed its warships to the eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel.
In this type of anxious environment, if Iran and america turn out to be directly concerned on this war, can it lead to the third international struggle? Before understanding the solution to this question, allow us to try to recognize about Hezbollah, what’s this agency, how did it come into being and how many squaddies and what number of weapons does it have?
Hezbollah
Hezbollah is considered to be the most powerful political and military organization of Shia Muslims in Lebanon. Formed in the 1980s with the backing of Iran, this party has been continuously fighting for the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Lebanon. Hizbullah literally means ‘community of God’.
After the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, this organization emerged with the support of a small group of Shiite clerics. The main objectives of this organization were resistance to Israel and the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon.
Hassan Nasrallah has been its head since 1992, while the organization succeeded in its mission in May 2000 when Israel withdrew. In the background of this process was the hand of Hezbollah’s military wing ‘Islamic Resistance’.
One of his goals was to replace the multi-religious state of Lebanon with an Iranian-style Islamic state in Lebanon, but he later had to abandon this idea.
Iran has long provided financial and military support to Hezbollah.
Shias are the majority in Lebanon and this movement represents the Shia sect living in Lebanon. With the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Lebanon, this organization made a place in the hearts of the common people.
Now the candidates of this party have a clear majority in the Parliament of Lebanon. Along with this, this organization has gained popularity among people in terms of social, community and medical services. The Jamaat has its own TV station called ‘Al-Minar’.
Hezbollah has been accused of plotting and bombing, particularly against Israeli and American targets, for years. It has been declared a ‘terrorist’ organization by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.
Hezbollah is considered a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has sent thousands of militants to fight on Mr. Assad’s side during Syria’s civil war. The Syrian civil war started in 2011 and the conflict has intensified. Hezbollah’s support of pro-government forces proved decisive in regaining ground lost to the rebels, particularly along the mountainous Lebanese border.
Israel often strikes targets in Syria linked to Iran and Hezbollah militants, but it rarely acknowledges the strikes.
However, Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria has intensified sectarian tensions in Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s support for Syria’s Alawite Shiite president and strong ties with Iran have seen a deepening of hostility from Gulf Arab states.
Hezbollah’s military, security, and political power, as well as the social services it provides, have established its reputation as a state within a state. It has a rivalry with government institutions that has led to strong criticism from its rivals. In some cases, its capabilities now exceed those of the Lebanese army, and in the 2006 war, its military force was used substantially against Israel.
Some Lebanese see Hezbollah as a threat to the country’s stability, but it remains popular among the Shiite community.
Hezbollah’s anti-Israel stance
Hezbollah’s origins are difficult to pinpoint, but its forerunners emerged in 1982 after the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in response to attacks by Palestinian militants.
After the attack, Shia leaders in favor of a response to the militants broke away from the Amal Tehreek.
The new organization, the Islamic Workers, received considerable military and organizational support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the Bekah Valley, and emerged as the most prominent and effective of the Shia militias that later formed Hezbollah.
These militia groups launched attacks against the Israeli army and its ally the South Lebanon Army, as well as foreign forces in Lebanon. He is said to have been involved in the 1983 bombings of the US embassy and US Marine barracks, which killed 258 US and 58 French soldiers and forced the withdrawal of Western peacekeepers. It had to be.
In 1985, Hezbollah formally announced its establishment by publishing an ‘open letter’ that identified the United States and the Soviet Union as the main enemies of Islam and called for the ‘elimination’ of Israel because they He said that Israel is occupying the lands of Muslims.
The 1989 Taif Accords, which ended Lebanon’s civil war and called for the disarmament of the militias, prompted Hezbollah to rebrand its military wing as an ‘Islamic resistance’ force. Dedicated to ending the Israeli occupation, and allowing it to keep its weapons.
In 1990, after the Syrian army established peace in Lebanon, Hezbollah continued its guerrilla warfare in southern Lebanon, but also began to play an active role in Lebanese politics. In 1992, he successfully contested the national elections for the first time.
When Israeli forces withdrew in 2000, Hezbollah was credited with pushing them out. The group resisted pressure to disarm and maintained a military presence in the south, arming itself as justification for continued Israeli presence in Sheba Farms and other disputed areas.
In 2006, Hezbollah militants carried out a cross-border attack that killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two, prompting a strong response from Israel.
Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, while Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel. More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, were killed during the 34-day fighting, along with 119 Israeli soldiers and 45 civilians.
Hezbollah survived this war against Israel and emerged with courage. Although it has since upgraded and expanded its weapons and recruited several new fighters, there has been no major fighting on the border and the area is now patrolled by UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army. has been
Hezbollah’s strength increases
In 2008, when Lebanon’s Western-backed government moved to shut down Hezbollah’s private telecommunications network and remove Beirut’s airport security chief because of his ties to the group, Hezbollah controlled much of the capital. took over the area and responded by fighting rival Sunni groups.
Lebanon’s government has backed away from trying to end sectarian clashes that have left 81 people dead and brought Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war. The power-sharing agreement then gave Hezbollah and its allies the power to veto any cabinet decision.
In the 2009 elections, it won 10 seats in the parliament and was part of the coalition government.
Later that year, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah issued a new political manifesto that sought to outline the group’s ‘political vision’.
He dropped the reference to the Islamic Republic in the 1985 manifesto, but maintained a tough stance against Israel and the United States and said Hezbollah needed to keep its weapons.
In 2011, the group and its allies forced the dissolution of the Saudi-backed coalition government led by Saad Hariri. Hezbollah warned it would not stand by because four of its members were accused of involvement in the 2005 killing of Rafiq Hariri, Mr Hariri’s father.
In December 2020, Hezbollah member Salim Ayash was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon for his involvement in the murder.
Hezbollah and its allies have been part of successive governments, where they wield considerable influence.
Could Iran and the United States join this conflict be a precursor to World War III?
Our international editor Jeremy Bowen, who reports from southern Israel, says:
When Joe Biden was asked about the possibility of intervention by Iran or its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, Joe Biden dismissed it and said ‘no’.
The Americans, meanwhile, have deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean to send a very strong message to Iran that it should stay out of the conflict.
They are saying that if any other power intervenes, they will face not only Israel but also US military power.
A major fault line in the Middle East is between the US and its allies and the Iranians and their allies.
Both sides are aware of the risks involved. If it turns from a cold war to a hot war, it will fan the flames in the Middle East of global importance.
If Lebanon joins, how much greater power will Hezbollah be compared to Hamas?
Our correspondent Hugo Bashiga, reporting from South Lebanon, said:
Hezbollah, the Lebanese military, political and social movement, has long been viewed by Israel as a more powerful force than Hamas.
The heavily armed Iran-backed group Hezbollah has an estimated 130,000 rockets and missiles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Most of these weapons are small and man-portable, surface-to-surface unguided rockets.
But they include anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as guided missiles capable of reaching inside Israel.
These weapons are more modern than the weapons that Hamas has.
Hezbollah’s leader claims he has 100,000 fighters, while independent estimates put the number at between 20,000 and 50,000. Many are well trained and battle hardened. He also has the experience of fighting in the Syrian civil war.
According to Israel, Hamas has 30,000 fighters, fewer than Hezbollah.