In a series of strategic political and military moves, Hezbollah is intensifying preparations for an imminent confrontation with Israel, drawing global attention and raising concerns about regional stability.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is promoting the deployment of his forces along the border, with over 30 observation posts in place there. Lebanese sources suggest that the group is readying itself for a prolonged conflict with Israel, which it believes is gradually accepting new rules of engagement set by Nasrallah.
Recent incidents include a tent manned by three-eight Hezbollah terrorists in an area south of the border but north of an Israeli security barrier near Mount Dov, where the border converges with Syria.
On Saturday, a group of around 18 Lebanese people, including one parliamentarian, crossed the border before being chased back by warning shots.
And in the past week, Hezbollah managed to steal surveillance equipment mounted on an Israeli tower along the frontier.
Furthermore, Hezbollah continues to provoke the Israeli Defense Forces and challenge Israel along the Blue Line, exacerbating border incidents and violating established arrangements. Nasrallah’s threats to resist any attempts to remove a tent erected in Israeli territory signal the terrorist group’s determination to assert its presence in the area.
Hezbollah’s military capabilities have seen significant improvements, with the group maintaining 15 battalions, including the elite Radwan Unit of 8,000 highly trained fighters. This force has been redeployed from the Syrian conflicts to the Israeli border, bringing with it invaluable operational experience.
Additionally, there have been reports of a noteworthy enhancement in Hezbollah’s unmanned aerial and air defense capabilities, as well as its anti-tank weaponry.
Among those points is a strip of land on Mount Dov, which Israel captured from Syria. Hezbollah claims the area called Shebaa Farms belongs to Lebanon. Syria has not commented on the matter.
International peacekeepers from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the border since 1978.
However, Israel and Lebanon reached a U.S.-brokered agreement delineating their maritime border in October 2022.
Hezbollah has in the past year constructed no fewer than 27 military posts along the border.
Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for a roadside bombing at the Megiddo Junction inside Israel in March. And Nasrallah is believed to have given the green light to Palestinian terrorist groups in Lebanon to fire a barrage of rockets at Israel during Passover in April.
Hezbollah perceives Israeli social divisions over the government’s judicial reform initiative as a sign of weakness.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)
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