Hezbollah

Topic: West Asia

Why in the news?

• Top Hezbollah leader Nasrallah killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon
• The Israeli military carried out a precise air strike while Hezbollah leadership were meeting at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut. 

Source: The Hindu 

About Hezbollah:

• It is a Shia resistance group with support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
• It was formed in 1982 following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. 
• Israel aimed to expel the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) from Lebanon and succeeded in relocating the PLO to Tunisia and establishing a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. 
  • However, the invasion spurred the rise of Hezbollah, which became a long-term security threat to Israel.
• Historically marginalized in Lebanon, the Shia community reorganized under Hezbollah, which now operates as a powerful political, military, and social force. 
• It has a political party with parliamentarians, provides social services to poorer sections, and commands a strong military unit backed by Iran, with fighters and a range of missiles.

Reason behind fighting between Israel and Hezbollah:

• Hezbollah’s core purpose is resistance against Israel, with the destruction of Israel stated in its manifesto.
• Regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel and the U.S., Hezbollah is credited for forcing Israel to end its occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. 
• The last full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah occurred in 2006 after a Hezbollah cross-border raid led to an Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
• The latest conflict flared after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 
• In response to Israel’s retaliation on Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. 
• This ongoing border conflict has displaced 70,000 Israelis, with tensions escalating after Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut airstrike, leading to intensified rocket attacks from Hezbollah.