October 13, 2024
Since the October 7, 2023, terror attack by Hamas on Israel that killed over 1,200 people, there have been near-daily attacks by Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed terror group based in Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired over 10,000 rockets at Israel.
Over the last ten months, Israel has taken an approach of active defense at its border with Lebanon, but concerns over Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors launching a wider war against Israel are growing. In fact, Hezbollah has reportedly as many as 150,000 missiles and rockets pointed at Israel.
Here is what to know about Hezbollah, its ties with Hamas, and the Israel-Hamas war.
The Latest:
Hezbollah Suicide Drone Strike Kills 4 IDF soldiers
On October 13, four IDF soldiers were killed and more than 60 others were injured, including eight seriously, in a Hezbollah suicide drone attack targeting a military base near Binyamina in northern Israel. The explosive-laden drone, rigged with balls of iron, crashed into a dining hall where Golani Brigade troops were gathered. The four slain soldiers were named as: Sergeant Omri Tamari, 19; Sergeant Yosef Hieb, 19; Sergeant Yoav Agmon, 19; and Sergeant Alon Amitay, 19.
Israel Eliminates Nasrallah
On September 27, Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in a precise Israeli airstrike in Beirut along with several other senior terror commanders. After Nasrallah's death was confirmed, AJC posted the following on X: "For decades, Hassan Nasrallah, longtime leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization, orchestrated attacks that killed Jews, Muslims, and Christians across the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, along with hundreds of American troops. His days of terrorizing the world are over."
Israel's defensive air campaign to end Hezbollah rocket threat, return civilians home
After nearly a year of daily Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, which have displaced over 60,000 civilians and turned the northern border into a war zone, the Israeli government has launched a large-scale defensive air campaign to neutralize the Hezbollah threat.
In a video message on September 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are working to "change the balance" in the north by dismantling Hezbollah’s missile arsenal. “We do not wait for a threat; we anticipate it,” Netanyahu said, as Israeli jets targeted southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. He emphasized that Israel is eliminating senior Hezbollah officials, terrorists, and missile stockpiles, with more operations to follow. "Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt them even more," he vowed, adding that Israel is systematically destroying thousands of missiles aimed at its cities and citizens.
The IDF has issued evacuation warnings to civilians in southern Lebanon and Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, advising them to avoid Hezbollah sites.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Sky News that Israel’s goal is to restore security and allow its citizens to return home, while blaming Hezbollah for igniting the conflict, warning of its potential to escalate dramatically.
“It is clearly a very dangerous situation and clearly has a potential of escalating dramatically,” he said.
Hezbollah leaders planning an invasion of northern Israel
Senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed in a precision Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold, on September 20.
Aqil, a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, held a position equivalent to the head of the Operations Division and was closely tied to the elite Radwan Force, responsible for planning ground operations inside Israel. He was also implicated in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, and was wanted by the U.S. State Department, which had offered a $7 million bounty for information leading to his capture.
The strike not only eliminated Aqil but also up to 15 other Hezbollah commanders, including Ahmed Wahbi, who was involved in plans to invade Israel's Galilee region. The operation dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah, destabilizing its leadership.
This marks the second recent assassination of a high-ranking Hezbollah official by Israel, following the July 30 killing of Fuad Shukr, a key figure in the 1983 U.S. Marine Barracks bombing. Shukr was also wanted by the U.S., with a $5 million bounty on his head.
Listen to AJC's People of the Pod
Pager and electronic devices explosions
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah conceded that the terror group suffered a “major and unprecedented” blow following the explosions targeting the terror group’s pagers, walkie-talkies, and other electronic devices on September 17 and 18. According to Lebanese officials, the blasts killed at least 37 people and injured nearly 3,000, mainly Hezbollah terror operatives, prompting Nasrallah to vow retaliation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the explosive devices.
As tensions rise, Israel's Security Cabinet updated its war objectives to prioritize the safe return of displaced northern residents, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizing that this cannot happen without military or diplomatic action against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah Murders Twelve Kids and Teens
On July 27, 2024, Hezbollah launched an Iranian-made rocket, killing 12 Israeli civilians and wounding over 30 near a soccer field in Majdal Shams. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a "harsh response" and called the Druze victims "brothers." The U.S. National Security Council confirmed Hezbollah’s responsibility, supporting Israel’s right to retaliate. The American Jewish Committee urged global action to hold Hezbollah and Iran accountable for targeting civilians.
On July 30, the IDF launched an airstrike in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, targeting Fuad Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsin, a senior adviser to the terror group's leader Hassan Nasrallah and head of the terror group's precision missile project. The IDF said that Shukr was behind the deadly rocket attack that killed 12 children on July 27.
What is Hezbollah's role in the Israel-Hamas War?
Since October 8, Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles, and explosive UAVs at Israeli civilian and military targets. In response, Israel has struck thousands of Hezbollah targets in both Lebanon and Syria, killing more than 482 Hezbollah terrorists, including some senior commanders such as Fuad Shukr and Ibrahim Aqil. On the Israeli side, 21 civilians and up to 20 IDF soldiers and reservists have been killed by Hezbollah, in addition to the hundreds killed by Hamas.
At least 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from the northern border since October 8, due to the Hezbollah threat. More than 21,500 acres, much of them forest preserves, have been burnt as Hezbollah rockets spark fires in the north.
While there has been a long list of Hezbollah attacks, the growing frequency and intensity of attacks appear to be escalating in recent weeks, with the IDF vowing a more forceful response.
On February 8, Hezbollah fired 30 rockets at northern Israel, just hours after an Israeli drone hit a Hezbollah senior commander. That strike was reportedly in retaliation for an earlier Hezbollah launch at an Israeli military base that wounded three IDF soldiers.
On February 12, two Israelis were seriously wounded when a Hezbollah rocket hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. Two days later on February 14, another Hezbollah barrage killed one person and injured at least eight in a strike on the Israeli city of Safed and a nearby army base.
Since then, Israel has stepped up attacks in northeastern Lebanon's Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold.
On February 26, Hezbollah claimed to fire 60 rockets at an Israeli military base in the Golan Heights. The strike was reportedly in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley that killed at least two Hezbollah terrorists, in what was reported to be the deepest attack into Lebanese territory since October 8.
On March 12, Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel.
Recently, Hezbollah fired one of its heaviest barrages yet, firing 150 rockets into northern Israel after Israel killed Abu Taleb and three other Hezbollah fighters on June 11. Taleb is the most senior Hezbollah official killed since this round of fighting began.
Shortly after, on June 20, Hezbollah blasted northern Israel with about 45 rockets after a Hezbollah field commander was murdered in an Israeli drone strike.
Top Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to go to war in Lebanon following the IDF’s campaign to rescue hostages and dismantle Hamas in Gaza, to push Hezbollah away from the border, north to the Litani River, per UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was enacted to end the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj-Gen. Ori Gordin has indicated that the IDF’s goal “to change the security situation in the north in a way that will allow the residents to return safely and with a sense of security,” and said that the IDF is continuing “to prepare for the expansion of the war and going on the offensive.”
What is the political situation in Lebanon?
Due to decades of corruption and sectarianism, the political and security situation in Lebanon is unstable and complex. The Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah is one reason why. More on Hezbollah is in the section below.
In August 2020, a massive explosion at the port of Beirut caused widespread destruction and led to political unrest, with many Lebanese blaming the government for the negligence that led to the explosion.
In October 2020, the Lebanese government resigned in response to widespread protests and pressure from the international community. Since then, the country has struggled to form a new government, with various political factions vying for power and struggling to agree on a new cabinet.
Lebanon is still without a fully functioning government. The prime minister-designate, Najib Mikati, has been attempting to form a new government for months.
The absence of a government has exacerbated Lebanon's already dire economic situation, with the country facing severe shortages of essential goods and services, including fuel, electricity, and medical supplies. The ongoing political crisis and economic collapse have led to protests and social unrest in Lebanon, with many Lebanese calling for a change in the country's political system and the end of corruption and sectarianism.
What is Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon?
Hezbollah has been involved in Lebanese politics since the early 1990s and has been represented in the Lebanese parliament since 1992.
The Iranian-backed terror organization has been able to gain political power in Lebanon through a combination of popular support from Lebanon's Shi’ite Muslim community, which represents the largest religious faction in the country, and its military strength thanks to support from Iran, which has allowed it to maintain a significant influence in Lebanon's political affairs.
Currently, Hezbollah holds seats in the Lebanese parliament and has representation in the current caretaker government, including two ministerial positions.
Hezbollah's involvement in Lebanese politics has been controversial within the country, with the terror organization using its political power to advance its own interests and undermine the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. Furthermore, Hezbollah is seen as Iran's proxy in Lebanon, and the terror organization has been able to maintain a significant military and political presence in the country thanks in part to Iran's backing.
According to the Washington Institute, Hezbollah undermines Lebanese security and stability, by carrying out political assassinations and has built its own parallel governance structure.
"Unlike many violent nonstate actors, which have only limited access to the formal economy and are heavily reliant on shadow economies, Hezbollah is able to benefit from the formal, regulated economy and simultaneously run its own parallel, shadow economy, which sucks from and undermines the formal economy."
What is Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Connection to Lebanon?
Lebanon has a significant population of Palestinian refugees who have been living in the country for decades. Lebanon has refused to grant these Palestinians citizenship, and as such, they have been stuck as permanent refugees for several decades. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates that there are some 470,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon.
Israeli officials have for several years warned about Hamas’s increasing role in Lebanon. According to a memo from former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, “Hamas has been building its own military force covertly in Lebanon. Hamas has recruited and trained hundreds of fighters, mostly men of Palestinian origin.”
Saleh Al-Arouri, the founding commander of Hamas’s military branch, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was reportedly behind the April 2023 rocket attacks from Lebanon. Al-Arouri, who used to be based in Turkey full-time, was assassinated in an Israeli drone strike in January 2024 in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
What is the connection between Hamas and Hezbollah?
Amid the rocket attacks on Israel in April 2023, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh along with other senior Hamas officials, including Saleh Al-Arouri, met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, where the two terror factions discussed deepening cooperation, including intensified “resistance in the West Bank and Gaza” as well as the “readiness of the axis of resistance,” referring to Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, and other Iranian-backed terror groups in the Middle East.
While Hamas and Hezbollah are both terrorist organizations that share a common goal of destroying Israel, there are some important differences between the groups. Hamas is primarily a Palestinian organization based in the Gaza Strip, while Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization with a strong presence in Southern Lebanon.
Hamas is an offshoot of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, while Hezbollah is a Shi’ite Muslim organization that shares close religious and strategic ties with Iran. Hamas’s primary focus is on the Palestinian issue and the establishment of a Palestinian state and the eradication of Israel. While Hezbollah is similarly dedicated to the eradication of Israel, it also has a broader regional and international agenda through its ties with Iran. Hezbollah has been involved in the civil war in Syria as well as carrying out terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in Latin America such as the 1994 AMIA bombing, the Burgas terror attack in Bulgaria, and elsewhere. AJC has been at the forefront of encouraging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.
Despite these differences, Hamas and Hezbollah have maintained close ties and have provided each other with support over the years. Iran, a key supporter of both terror organizations, has played a significant role in facilitating this relationship. Hezbollah has reportedly provided Hamas with training and weapons, while Hamas has offered political and moral support to Hezbollah in its conflicts with Israel.
How does Iran support Hamas and Hezbollah?
Iran has long been known to provide support to both Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran's support for these groups is part of its broader strategy to increase its influence in the region and counter the influence of Israel and the United States. It sees these groups as proxies that can carry out its interests and goals in the region, including opposing the West and calling for Israel’s destruction.
To support Hamas, Iran provides financial aid, weapons, and training. Hamas is based in Gaza, a Palestinian territory that is bordered by Egypt and Israel. Its border with Israel is under a security blockade, so Iran’s support is crucial for Hamas to maintain its military capabilities. Iran provides Hamas with rocket technology and expertise, including advanced training, which has enabled Hamas to launch rockets into Israel during conflicts.
As for Hezbollah, Iran has been its main supporter and patron since the terror group was founded in the early 1980s. Iran provides financial support, weapons, and training to Hezbollah. Iran has also been known to provide Hezbollah with rockets and other advanced military technology, which has allowed the group to launch attacks against Israel and maintain a significant military presence in Lebanon.
