The Israel and Hezbollah Conflict

A history of the two actors and a breakdown of the ongoing situation

Throughout September 17 and 18, destruction rang out in Lebanon as thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah exploded, killing at least 37 people and injuring thousands. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have traded attacks and other nations are becoming more involved. This constantly developing situation is as complicated as it is devastating. Here, you will find a history of the relationship and an overview of the current conflict.

 

Hezbollah is a political party, military group, and Canadian-designated terrorist organization based in Lebanon. The organization was founded in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War, at the same time their conflict began with Israel. At the time, Israel occupied parts of Southern Lebanon to fight independent Palestinian forces who used Lebanon as a base to attack Israel.

 

Over the next two decades, Hezbollah’s military strength grew significantly due, in part, to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from Iran. As of 2023, they stood as the best-armed non-state-actor in the world according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). When the Lebanese Civil War had ended in 1992, they entered the political stage in Lebanon, currently holding 62 seats in the 128-seat parliament.

Olivia Haill – Argosy Illustrator

 

Throughout this conflict, both sides did not hold back in their fighting. For example, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded to the killing of its soldiers by initiating “operation accountability” in 1993 which saw casualties in a refugee camp. After Hezbollah’s response a seven-day war broke out resulting in 118 Lebanese civilian deaths, over 500 injuries, and thousands of buildings destroyed. 

 

In 2006, Hezbollah began “operation truthful promise.” By taking several of Israel’s soldiers hostage, Hezbollah attempted to pressure the IDF to return Lebanese hostages. The IDF responded by bombing suspected Hezbollah hiding positions which began the 34-day July War. Shortly after, the IDF launched a Lebanon-wide offensive by starting a land, sea, and air blockade that continued one month after a ceasefire. The IDF’s supposed goal was to prevent Hezbollah from receiving any military aid. The war finished with 1,200 Lebanese deaths and 4,400 injuries, mostly civilians while Israel reported 158 deaths, mostly soldiers.

 

October 7, 2023 was when Hamas (a Palestinian political, military, and Canadian-designated terrorist organization) attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and 250 taken hostage. When Israel responded by issuing a bombardment of attacks on the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah began rocket launches on Israel which was met with an Israeli response. The Lebanese Ministry of Health has reported that this response led to the killing of at least 133 Lebanese civilians. Displaced by the conflict are approximately 97,000 Lebanese and 60,000 Israelis who still have not yet returned to their homes. 

 

This brings us to the recent explosion of pagers in Lebanon. Following the event, Israel began its ground invasion into Lebanon calling it the “next phase” of the conflict with Hezbollah. A combination of the missile and land campaign has devastated Lebanese civilians. As of October 6, 2,000 Lebanese civilians have been killed, 1.2 million are displaced, and displacement shelters are nearly full. Israel denies it being labeled an invasion and instead calls it “localized raids” according to an anonymous Israeli security official. “The amount of forces and the type of forces are more appropriate to something of a limited raid, and not, for example, things we have seen in Gaza with very, very large forces,” they finished. UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mentioned that the IDF has staged some “sporadic raids” across the Lebanon-Israel border, but its troops have not remained on Lebanese soil. 

 

The conflict also sees a stronger Iranian military presence as they fired 200 missiles at Israel to which a large number were intercepted with the help of the United States. Iran’s military threatens further action should Israel and the US respond.

 

This is a difficult conflict to navigate. The deaths and human suffering are profound and despite reassurance from these governments, there does not appear to be a definite and agreed upon resolution. The rising involvement of several nations has become an issue as well. Governmental relationships are intertwined and complicated, and the people suffering are innocent civilians.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles