Three days after the ceasefire with Israel, signed on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 26, and just over two months after the start of Israeli bombings, what remains of Hezbollah?
Since October 8, 2023, the Islamist movement opened a second front to support its Palestinian ally, Hamas, in open conflict with Israel after the massacres of October 7. Starting on September 23, the IDF intensified its bombing of Lebanon and, in particular, the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. On September 30, Israel began a ground operation in southern Lebanon to expel the Islamist movement from its border.
Almost 100,000 homes will be rebuilt in Lebanon
Almost two months later, Hezbollah is particularly weakened. Some leaders of the Islamist movement cite the figure of 4,000 members of the organization killed in combat in recent months. Among the victims of the Israeli attacks were many senior officials, including Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iranian-backed organization. For its part, the Israeli army claims to have destroyed numerous tunnels and weapons depots.
“Hezbollah is extremely weakened by the Israeli operation, but it has not disappeared. It is estimated that its military capabilities have been reduced by approximately 70%,” says David Rigoulet-Roze, editor-in-chief of the magazine Orients Stratégiques.
The explosion of Hezbollah’s pagers and then walkie-talkies in mid-September also left its mark, in addition to wounding hundreds of members of the movement. “We are entering another era, particularly with a probable generational change. We must keep in mind that Hezbollah is a Lebanese party (…) It is not a foreign organism, it remains a component of Lebanese society,” recalls David Rigoulet-Roze.
In Lebanon, the damage is considerable. Nearly 100,000 homes need to be rebuilt for an estimated amount of 2.6 billion euros, according to the World Bank.
“Just as your community has been loyal, we, the resistance, will continue to be loyal to it. “We will rebuild the southern suburbs, we will rebuild everything that was destroyed in Lebanon, we will work to house the families who lost their homes,” he said. promised Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council.
All this did not prevent the movement supported by Tehran from “proclaiming” this Wednesday its victory against Israel, stating that Israeli forces failed in their “attempts (…) to occupy and establish themselves in cities.”
Source: BFM TV
