CrossFireArabia
By Abdel Bari Atwan
We do not dispute the official and popular Iranian resistance narrative and use by its military leadership of hypersonic missiles with cluster warheads weighing between one and two tons, and which penetrated most of Israel’s air defenses and destroyed its targets in the occupied Palestinian cities (Israel) in the first five weeks. These were one of the most prominent surprises of the current American-Israeli war on Iran.
However, the biggest and most unexpected surprise for many, both for Israel and the Arab environment, is this powerful resurgence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, its military wing, formidable missile and drone capabilities, and the highly efficient management of the ongoing battle by its “hawkish” leadership. This is constituting a powerful shock to the Israeli enemy, official Lebanese authorities, and the Americans.
The Hezbollah Party’s military wing, led by a young command trained in North Korea and China in the latest guerrilla warfare tactics, is waging the war with high efficiency, overseeing the launch of more than 200 rockets and drones daily. Most of these reach their targets in the Greater Tel Aviv area, much of whose cities now destroyed, and Haifa and its bay, reduced to a blazing inferno. The Hezbollah missiles are targetting settlements in the Upper and Lower Galilee, most notably Kiryat Shmona, which has become a ghost town.
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Hezbollah deceived all of its adversaries, inside and outside Lebanon, remaining steadfast, feigning restraint and flexibility, and avoiding confrontation with the state by all means. It never responded neither to the clamorous voices predicting its demise and political and military exit from the scene, nor to the killing of some of its new leaders, even after the “Pagers War” or to the provocative Israeli violations of the ceasefire, which exceeded 10,000 over the past 16 months. This was because its priorities focused on internal restructuring and rebuilding its missile and drone industries to achieve military self-sufficiency for the current major confrontation.
Data from trusted sources confirm that the party currently possesses more than 30,000 short- and medium-range missiles, thousands of Shahed and Hudhud drones, and more than one 100,000 fighters, most of whom are young men under the age of thirty.
The party’s success and precision of its missiles in exhausting the Israeli enemy and its forces and emptying the occupied Galilee of all its settlers who fled to central and southern Israel seeking safety and security, restored its prestige and broadened its popularity, both within its Shiite base and among many members of other sects, especially young people, as well as in the wider Arab and Islamic worlds.
Hezbollah destroyed at least 40 Israeli Merkava tanks, killed more than 35 Israeli soldiers, and wounded 80 others since entering the war on 4 March. This number of casualties, by the Israeli enemy’s own admission, is the same as their numbers during the 12-day war last June.
We do not believe the Israeli leaks circulated by some Lebanese circles, whether in their media outlets and/ or on social media platforms, claiming the existence of three wings within Hezbollah: First, the moderate wing, which wants to avoid confrontation with the state; second, the “doves,” who do not object to linking disarmament to Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction; and third, the “hawks,” united behind its military leadership, which believes in the option of resistance, maintaining and developing weapons until the liberation of all Lebanese and Arab lands.
The upper hand now belongs to the “hawks,” around whom everyone rallies, and who have absolutely no trust in the capitulating state, nor in America and the Western world in general, who have starved the Lebanese people, supported the Israeli occupation and all its crimes in displacing more than 1 million Lebanese from the south, seized the border strip south of the Litani River, and whose planes have not ceased bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, Bekaa Valley, and cities and neighborhoods that support the resistance.
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We urge those who focus solely on Israel’s theatrical assassinations in Lebanon—and which are clearly part of a psychological warfare campaign—to reconsider and focus on stamping out intelligence breaches, to cease promoting Israeli plans and instead see the other side of the cup: The significant losses inflicted deep inside Israel, even reaching settlements around Gaza Strip in the far south. This war is still in its early stages, specifically its first month, and more than seven million settlers are living in shelters and tunnels day and night, terrified of Lebanese, Iranian, and Yemeni missiles.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, hit the nail on the head when he said that Israel poses an existential threat to everyone in Lebanon and beyond. Therefore, the resistance war must continue until this threat is eradicated. Hezbollah’s patience has its limits; it is not unlimited.
No pagers, no smartphones, no announcement of the names of the new leaders, and the party has returned to its early beginnings, which is equivalent to carrier pigeons, direct communication, smart ambushes, limited-number cells, and finally, patience and fighting until victory, which is imminent, God willing… and the days will tell.
This comment by Chief Editor of Abdel Bari Atwan of Al Rai Al Youm was translated from Arabic and published in crossfirearabia.com
