Israel has invaded Lebanon to “punish terrorism helped along by Iran,” compelling Tehran to respond with a bombardment of nearly 200 missiles.
Iran claims 90% of the projectiles hit their targets, while Israeli officials maintain most of them were shot down by air defense systems. The assault has triggered warnings of retaliation by Israel and the U.S., further boosting concerns of a wider regional war. The trigger point for the current conflict was Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, followed by a ground invasion earlier this week, prompting Hezbollah to declare it is ready for war. Hundreds of battle-hardened fighters armed with a massive arsenal of rockets and missiles are marshalled along the border with Israel, it claimed, with some members claiming it was only a matter of time before Israel was attacked from Lebanon.
Hezbollah, supported by Iran, emerged in the wake of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. A Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militia group, it was subsequently honed into a formidable guerrilla force. Using classic hit-and-run tactics, Hezbollah’s fighters forced the Israeli army to withdraw from southern Lebanon in May 2000. Today, it is believed to boast an armed strength equal to that of a medium-sized army, reportedly comprising 100,000 trained fighters. It is partly financed and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has a military budget of $700 million according to 2018 U.S. estimates. Over the years, Hezbollah’s strategy against Israel has evolved to use rockets as offensive weaponry combined with light infantry and anti-armor units to defend firing positions in southern Lebanon.
But while Hezbollah is estimated to have 40,000-120,000 rockets, its number of anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles is limited. The group also does not have manned aircraft, tanks, or armored vehicles in Lebanon, hampering its ability to counter Israeli air supremacy. If the prevailing situation persists, these could all be mobilized, inciting a conflict the world is ill-prepared for. What is coming to the Middle East is a horrible war that the world must prevent; not only to secure the global economy and prevent an international crisis but also to ensure Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza are not repeated elsewhere.