While the attention of the world has focused on Israel’s assault on Gaza over the past two months, following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, one aspect of the Middle East conflict not getting a great deal of news coverage has been the continuing battle with Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
There have been daily reports of clashes between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Lebanese Hezbollah. On December 11, nine Hezbollah attacks on Israeli towns or military positions were recorded. The group, whose name means “Party of God” and which is largely funded by Iran while embedded in Lebanon, has lost more than 100 fighters since October 7.
Hezbollah and Hamas are thought to collaborate as part of the broader “axis of resistance”, which also includes the Houthi rebels in Yemen and other groups in Syria, Iraq and Iran. While there is no evidence that Hezbollah was directly involved in the planning for the October 7, logistical training and coordination between Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards has been going on for years.
