Behind the Escalation: What Is Really Happening to Hezbollah Now

Photo: Channel 14 News

Behind the Escalation: What Is Really Happening to Hezbollah Now

Akhikam Hillelfarb, about an hour ago

Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon continue today as well, despite Tehran’s attempts to draw red lines and threaten a response. In Israel, they refuse to accept the equation and continue fighting Hezbollah, alongside the evacuation of residents from Tyre and the continued movement of refugees in the area.

At the same time, tensions are rising between Iran and angry Lebanese residents: “If Lebanon were in your hearts, you would not enjoy destroying it.”

Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon continued today as well. This is despite Tehran’s attempt to set new red lines and threaten retaliation for any IDF strike in southern Lebanon. In Israel, they refuse to accept the equation, and continue the campaign to wear down Hezbollah’s power. Just yesterday, the IDF issued an evacuation notice for the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, and a massive movement of refugees fleeing the city is still being felt in the area.

While Iran struggles to create deterrence against Israel, it continues to tighten its grip on Lebanon. During this week’s assault, the Iranian embassy in Beirut published a tweet showing a map of Lebanon as part of Iranian territory, alongside the caption, “Lebanon is the heart of Iran,” and the post sparked a public uproar in Lebanon.

Dr. Hadi Murad, a Lebanese doctor and social activist, erupted in a video he posted online: “If Lebanon were truly in your hearts, you would not enjoy destroying it, burning the south, causing its people to emigrate, and shaking its stability and security for 47 years.”

At the same time, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, the terrorist organization Hezbollah, continues to try to create a narrative that Iran is protecting Lebanon. It issued an official statement calling on the Lebanese authorities to “correct their official relations with Iran” and to rely on Iranian support.

At the same time, a banner was displayed in the Dahieh reading, “Thank you, Iran.” Hezbollah is desperate to receive Iranian backing after the organization was badly hit during the war, and according to a report on Al Hadath, there are terrorists refusing to go into the field and fight, out of fear of the war.

As noted, after thousands of its members were killed in the past two years, Hezbollah is facing significant manpower erosion. The terrorist organization Hezbollah is now looking for new ways to fill its ranks, and it has now been reported that it is also recruiting children to fight in southern Lebanon.

The struggle over Lebanon’s future is now being waged on two fronts simultaneously, on the battlefield against Israel, and in the internal struggle over whether Lebanon will be an independent state or another Iranian proxy.