Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a radical Shi'ite terrorist group based in Lebanon that has been waging a guerilla campaign against Israel since the 1980s.

The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, Canada, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Hezbollah’s Conflict with Israel

One of Hezbollah's key goals is the elimination of the State of Israel and the group has found itself in regular conflict with Israel since 1982, including during the First Lebanon War and the 2006 Lebanon War.

The First Lebanon War, otherwise known as the South Lebanon conflict, started in 1985 and ended with Israeli withdrawal in 2000. 559 Israeli soldiers were killed and 840 wounded during the conflict and more than 1,200 Hezbollah militants were killed and approximately 1,000 wounded.

The 2006 Lebanon War began on 12 July 2006 when Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack on Israeli troops, killing three and kidnapping two IDF soldiers.

The five-week conflict saw 121 IDF soldiers killed and 1,244 wounded. 44 Israeli civilians were killed during the war as a result of Hezbollah rocket and mortar fire. Israel claims that between 600 and 800 Hezbollah militants were killed during the conflict, in addition to at least 1,000 Lebanese and foreign civilians.

The remains of the two seized Israeli soldiers, whose fates were unknown, were returned to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange in July 2008.

Hezbollah has also planned and carried out major terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and infrastructure outside of Israel.

The organization is responsible, among other things, for the 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina, the 2012 Burgas bus bombing against Israeli citizens, and for the kidnapping of several Israeli soldiers.

Following the October 7 massacre in late 2023, Hezbollah began carrying out numerous attacks against Israel. In response, following months of fighting with Hamas in Gaza, the IDF turned their focus to the North. Following a two-day attack in which the pagers and other communication devices of Hezbollah officials all exploded in what is widely believed to be a carefully orchestrated plot by Israel, the IDF carried out numerous strikes in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of much of its leadership, including Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. Shortly after, the IDF launched a limited ground offensive into southern Lebanon to root out Hezbollah positions.