 "Israeli soldiers next to military vehicles near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in southern Israel photo: reuters")
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday threatened a war with Israel with "no restraint and no rules and no ceilings" in case of a major Israeli offensive against Lebanon, a day after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz raised the prospect of such a conflict with the Lebanese group.
Nasrallah's threat comes amid rising tensions at the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israeli officials reiterating that their country was ready for an all-out war with Hezbollah.
What are Israel and Hezbollah saying?
In a speech via video feed, Nasrallah said, "All what the enemy says and the threats and warnings the mediators bring – and what is being said in the Israeli media – about a war in Lebanon does not scare us." Nasrallah added that it was Israel that should be "scared".
The Hezbollah chief also highlighted the group's military capabilities, claiming that it had acquired new weapons and possessed an abundance of drones that it was manufacturing locally.
Nasrallah's remarks come after Israeli Foreign Minister Katz on Tuesday raised the possibility of a major conflict with Hezbollah after the Lebanese group released surveillance drone footage showing major military and infrastructure sites in northern Israel.
Hezbollah has published a video showing one of its reconnaissance drones flying over northern Israel, including the Haifa port. pic.twitter.com/7UxfpiX3Io
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 18, 2024
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In a social media post, Katz wrote, "We (Israel) are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon." He added, "In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit."
What is Hezbollah?
An Iran-backed group, Hezbollah is described as a "Shiite Muslim political party" and "militant group" that operates in Lebanon, by the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
Hezbollah is also described as the "world's most heavily armed non-state actor", by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Hezbollah has engaged in clashes with Israel for decades, and most recently gained additional military experience from fighting in the Syrian civil war.
Laying out the group's agenda, the CFR says it "opposes Israel and Western powers" operating in West Asia (the Middle East), and it is "a proxy of Iran", which is its largest benefactor.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah possesses a vast security apparatus, political organisation, and social services network, which the CFR says has led to the group's reputation as "a state within a state".
Hezbollah emerged out of Lebanon's fifteen-year civil war, which broke out in 1975. During this time, Israel invaded southern Lebanon twice -- in 1978 and 1982 -- to push out Palestinian fighters using the region as their base.
When a Shiite group emerged in Lebanon to fight the Israeli occupation, Iran, sensing an opportunity to expand its influence in Arab states, provided it with funds and training. The group took the name Hezbollah, which means "The Party of God".
How does Hezbollah view Israel?
Hezbollah's ideology is fleshed out in its 1985 manifesto, in which the group called for the destruction of the state of Israel, vowed to expel Western powers from Lebanon, and pledged their allegiance to Iran's supreme leader.
Hezbollah views Israel as its main enemy, with the group also being blamed for attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets abroad, including the 1994 car bombings at Israel's embassy in London and a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have continued even after the latter officially withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
This periodic conflict escalated in 2006, when Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, leading to a month-long war that left over one thousand Lebanese and fifty Israelis dead.
In its 2009 manifesto, Hezbollah reiterated its commitment to the destruction of the Israeli state.
Hezbollah also has access to sophisticated anti-ship and anti-armor weapons supplied by Iran, which it has used to attack Israel.
How does Hezbollah view the Western powers?
In April 1983, the United States (US) embassy in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was bombed, killing 63 people. In October that same year, suicide attacks on barracks in Beirut housing US and French troops killed 305 people. These attacks were attributed to Hezbollah by a US court.
In 1984, another car bombing attributed to Hezbollah killed dozens of people at the Beirut US embassy annex.
While the US designated Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997, the European Union designated only Hezbollah's military arm as a terrorist group in 2013. The United Kingdom designated all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group in 2019, followed by Germany in 2020.
What role has Hezbollah played in the Israel-Hamas war?
After Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages into Gaza, Israel immediately declared war on Hamas and launched a campaign of bombardment, followed by a ground invasion. Israel's offensive has devastated the Palestinians of Gaza and killed over 37,000 people, mostly women and children.
Since then, near-daily skirmishes have occurred on the Israel-Lebanon border. According to the Times of Israel, these have resulted in the death of 10 civilians and 15 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and reservists on the Israeli side. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has identified 343 members killed by Israel. A Lebanese soldier and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Last week, Hezbollah claimed that it had carried out over 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8 in what the group calls a show of support for Palestinians and Hamas in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the CFR, its long-standing alliances with Iran and Syria have transformed Hezbollah into "an increasingly effective military force" in recent years, with experts saying that the group would pose a formidable challenge to Israel in the event of a new war.
