Is Hezbollah escalating tensions with Israel?

 Is Hezbollah escalating tensions with Israel?

 

Beirut (AFP) Israel and Hezbollah are engaged in daily cross-border firefights, but is the powerful Lebanese movement actively seeking to escalate conflict with Israel? Since the Hamas attacks, there has been relatively controlled firing across the border between Israel and Hezbollah, which is part of a delicate balance of action on the border.

 

In 2006, a bloody conflict occurred between Israel and Hezbollah, resulting in the deaths of over 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 individuals in Israel, primarily soldiers.

 

Hezbollah's close sources, on condition of anonymity, have told AFP that Hezbollah and the Sunni Muslim group, Hamas, have been part of a "Joint Operations Room" for a long time, which includes the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This group, known as the "Axis of Resistance," opposes Israel with the support of Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, and other Iranian-backed forces.

 

Carnegie Middle East Center's Michael Young suggested that Hezbollah is supporting Hamas due to their alignment in opposing Israel's theoretical stance. He also pointed out that the Axis of Resistance has consistently tried to emphasize that it's not merely a Shiite Muslim arrangement and that Hamas plays a significant role in dispelling any sectarian character.

 

Hamas is at the center of the Palestinian issue, which is an integral part of Hezbollah and Iran's revolutionary ideology.

 

Hezbollah is Lebanon's most prominent political and military player, possessing an arsenal of weapons, including guided missiles, which is considered more potent than the Lebanese national army. Tehran provides Hezbollah with financial and military assistance, while neighboring Syria facilitates arms transfers.

 

Since the end of the 2006 conflict, there hasn't been a clear military presence of Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern border, which UN peacekeepers monitor. However, experts and reports suggest that the group maintains positions and tunnels in its territory, known to its members.

 

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, stated in August that Hezbollah only needs a few precision-guided missiles to target Israeli objectives, including airports, power stations, and the Dimona nuclear installation.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that starting a war with Israel would be a "grave mistake" for Hezbollah.

 

Emad Salamey, a political analyst at the Lebanese American University, suggested that while Hezbollah can escalate its operations, it does not want to divert attention from the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

 

Carnegie's Young added that Hezbollah's activities aim to remove Israeli forces from Gaza to prevent military action there or create a pretext for international pressure, possibly backed by the U.S., for a ceasefire.

 

Both Young and Salamey expressed concerns that Iran might push Hezbollah to engage in a broader confrontation with Israel to reduce pressure on Hamas.