Hezbollah

As the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has continued for close to a year, the U.N. Security Council recently renewed the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon or UNIFIL) for another year. The contradiction between the text approved in the U.N., and the reality on the ground could not have been more staggering, as keeping, or more likely reestablishing calm along the Israeli-Lebanese border seems far beyond the capabilities of UNIFIL. 

Over a week has passed since Hezbollah’s response to the Israeli targeted killing of Fuad Shukr, the organization’s top military commander. As the dust settles down, there are several takeaways from the event that brought Israel and Hezbollah to the closest point of an all-out war since the October 7 massacre by Hamas. 

Hezbollah’s failed attempt to hit significant military targets in central Israel as a response to Israel’s targeted killing of Fuad Shukr, one of the organization’s top military commanders, opens a window that allows a peek into its thinking.

A caption from a video published on X after Israel’s strike on a Hezbollah ammunition depot last week in the Bekaa Valley

As the fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah dominate international attention regarding Lebanon, events in the domestic political arena reflect the deep vulnerability that has led to Hezbollah's ability to use Lebanon's soil as a platform to attack Israel as part of Iran's regional vision. 

In recent weeks, the possibility of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah has been the focus of international attention. Until now, diplomatic efforts to prevent the outbreak of war have so far proven fruitless. Accordingly, several countries have already advised their citizens to leave Lebanon due to rising fears that such a war could start soon. 

Lebanon, in recent days, was thrown into turmoil after The Telegraph published a report exposing Hezbollah’s use of Beirut International Airport to smuggle and store weapons coming from Iran. 

For years, Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was promoting the narrative that Hezbollah is the "protector of Lebanon" from potential Israeli aggression.

Despite being the world’s biggest backer of terrorism and human rights abuses, the Islamic Republic receives external rhetorical support from some unlikely quarters in the West.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has deep roots, threatening both regional stability and the security of Israel. 

Media outlets in Beirut have reported that British diplomats recently delivered harsh warnings to their Lebanese counterparts: if Hezbollah continues its attacks on northern Israel, Israel will scale up its military campaign against Lebanon by mid-June.