Hezbollah Is Hiding Its Assets, Could Attack Israel With Hundreds Of Rockets And Drone In Next War

File image.

Hezbollah is attempting to conceal most of its strategic assets in tunnels and bunkers beneath residential buildings in the Shiite-majority suburb of southern Beirut and could launch hundreds of rockets, guided missiles and suicide drones against Israel in case of a new war, Ynet reported on December 16, citing Israeli defense and intelligence officials.

The report came out as Israel is reported to be bracing to start a new war with Lebanon, more than a year into a ceasefire brokered by the United States.

In an interview from earlier this month, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji revealed to Al Jazeera TV that Beirut received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing to launch a large-scale operation against Hezbollah.

Israel’s Kan public broadcaster also reported that the Israeli military completed preparations in recent weeks for an attack against Hezbollah if the government and army in Lebanon fail to fulfill their pledge to disarm the party before the end of the year.

The Israeli military continued to launch strikes against positions and members of Hezbollah after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect on November 27 of last year, and last month it escalated by assassinating the group’s top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai in Beirut.

Even a day before Yent published its report the military targeted an alleged member of the group in the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh.

According to the report, Hezbollah was “weakened” by the last confrontation with the Israeli military but is still “well-armed”.

Defense officials told Yent that they believe that no operation will proceed without the consent of U.S. President Donald Trump, making it unlikely that any action would be taken before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled visit to the White House later this month.

Meanwhile, military intelligence officials believe that Hezbollah currently prefers to absorb near-daily Israeli airstrikes rather than escalate, choosing instead to focus on domestic power struggles it sees as more manageable, according to the report.

“We are seeing more and more Shiite supporters shift their allegiance to Amal,” a rival Shiite movement, the officials said.

“Hezbollah is failing to support thousands of bereaved families and many wounded. Still, from a military standpoint, Hezbollah remains stronger than the Lebanese army. When that changes, we’ll know the tide has turned,” they added.

The officials speculated that Hezbollah will continue to rebuild, largely through domestic manufacturing and converting existing rockets into precision-guided missiles.

“We will have to continue confronting it at all costs,” said one official.

“As talk of disarming Hezbollah becomes more tangible and any disarmament effort moves toward force, the group is likely to become more aggressive. Hezbollah is not volunteering to disarm, and the Lebanese army, for its part, is maintaining a neutral posture,” he added.

Faced with the threat of a new Israeli war, the Lebanese army in recent days stepped up effort to impose secure southern Lebanon in recent days, going as far as organizing a diplomatic tour along the border with Israel, where it has been working for months to remove Hezbollah infrastructure and weapons.

Click to see full-size image. (Lebanese Armed Forces)

Click to see full-size image. (Lebanese Armed Forces)

Click to see full-size image. (Lebanese Armed Forces)

Click to see full-size image. (Lebanese Armed Forces)

Senior officials from the U.S., France, and Saudi Arabia are also set to meet in Paris in an effort to prevent a war on Lebanon.

From its side, Iran emphasized again that its support for Hezbollah will continue despite the threats coming out from Israel.

“Hezbollah, as one of the most important pillars of the resistance front, plays a fundamental role in confronting Zionism,” state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, as saying to Hezbollah’s representative in Tehran in December.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership and orders of the [supreme] leader, will continue to resolutely support this valuable and selfless group on the front lines of the resistance,” he added.

One of the intelligence officers who spoke to Ynet alleged that Tehran recently increased its annual support for the group to over $700 million.

A poster displaced recently at the heart of Palestine Square in Tehran with Hezbollah banner and writing in Hebrew and Arabic that reads “In the next war Naharaya prepare yourself”. (X)

Overall, it is clear that Israel is preparing to attack Hezbollah. The Trump administration does not seem to be very enthusiastic about preventing such a war.

Commenting on the situation on December 16, Trump said that “Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a problem,” and that certain allied countries are ready to intervene and “clean out” the situation if the U.S. decides to do so. This indicates that war remains the most likely option.

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