Middle East
- By Kian Sharifi
Who Was Hassan Nasrallah, The Assassinated Leader Of Hezbollah?
Hassan Nasrallah was the longtime leader of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed on September 28 that Nasrallah was killed in massive Israeli strikes on the Lebanese, capital, Beirut the day before.
In his more than 30 years in charge of Hezbollah, Nasrallah transformed the Shi'ite militia into a major political force in Lebanon and a powerful adversary of neighboring Israel.
In that time, the 64-year-old cleric became one of the most powerful and polarizing figures in the Middle East.
To many members of Lebanon's Shi'ite community, a historically marginalized group, he was a hero. But others considered him a warmonger who dragged the country into regional conflicts.
Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
Nasrallah was born in 1960 to a poor family in the southern suburbs of Beirut. After studying at a Shi'ite seminary in Iraq, Nasrallah joined the Amal movement, a militia that sought to elevate the status of Lebanon's Shi'ite community.
Following Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 -- during Lebanon's devastating civil war -- Nasrallah joined the newly formed Hezbollah.
A charismatic cleric and skilled orator, Nasrallah quickly rose through Hezbollah's ranks. When Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, Nasrallah was picked as his successor at the age of 32.
Nasrallah forged a close relationship with Shi'a-majority Iran, Hezbollah's key backer. With significant financial and political assistance from Tehran, Nasrallah built Hezbollah into a powerful political and military entity in Lebanon and a major player in the region.
Hezbollah's fight against Israel won Nasrallah support inside and outside Lebanon. In 2000, following persistent Hezbollah attacks, Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation.
In 2006, Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers triggered a devastating 34-day war with Israel. Despite the destruction and loss of life caused, the war boosted the standing of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the region.
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah came to the aid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during that country's civil war, trained Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, and assisted Hamas, the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group.
Hezbollah has also been accused of orchestrating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires.
The cleric was rarely seen in public in the past two decades, with most of his supporters witnessing his once black beard turning gray only on television screens. Wearing a black turban, Nasrallah often delivered long speeches via video link from secret locations due to security concerns.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged constant cross-border attacks. Hezbollah has said that it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
Nasrallah's organization suffered major setbacks in recent months. Israel assassinated key members of Hezbollah's leadership, neutralized a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupted its communications.
In his most recent speech on September 19, following suspected Israeli attacks targeting electronic devices used by members of Hezbollah, Nasrallah warned Israel that "retribution will come."
More News
- By Kian Sharifi and
- Golnaz Esfandiari
Hassan Nasrallah's Death A 'Major Loss' For Hezbollah And Ally Iran
The death of Hassan Nasrallah is a significant blow to Hezbollah and the organization's key sponsor, Iran.
Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, said Nasrallah was killed in Israeli air strikes in the capital, Beirut, on September 27.
In his more than 30 years in charge of Hezbollah, Nasrallah transformed the Shi'ite militia into a major political force in Lebanon and a powerful adversary of neighboring Israel.
Hezbollah -- considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing -- is also a leading member of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, a loose network of Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel and the United States.
Nasrallah’s death is "a major loss and embarrassment" for Iran, said Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Berlin-based Center for Middle East and Global Order.
It constitutes the "heaviest blow to Tehran's regional standing" since the assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Iraq in 2020, Fathollah-Nejad told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Nasrallah, Soleimani, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "constituted the nucleus of Iran's expansive regional ambitions," he said.
A charismatic cleric and skilled orator, Nasrallah was picked as Hezbollah chief at the age of 32. With significant financial and political assistance from Tehran, Nasrallah built Hezbollah into a powerful political and military entity in Lebanon and a major player in the region.
The 64-year-old's death will have "serious implications" for the operations of Iran's axis of resistance, said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
"In the short term, it will result in serious gaps, lack of coordination, and ambiguity," he told RFE/RL.
Yemen's Huthi rebels, another member of the axis, could take the mantle from Hezbollah if Iran decides to establish a new hierarchy in the network, Azizi says.
The Huthis have been "more effective" at challenging Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war than other axis members and suffered less blowback, Azizi said.
"But there is no guarantee that they will remain as such, given Israel's determination to go after [members of the axis] one by one," he added.
For Hezbollah, Nasrallah's death could be disastrous, experts say.
"Nasrallah will be difficult to replace," said Norman Roule, a veteran of the CIA who worked at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
"Any successor will lack his political stature in Lebanon and personal relationship with Iran’s supreme leader," Roule told Radio Farda.
Hezbollah has suffered major setbacks in recent months. Israel has assassinated key members of its leadership, neutralized a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupted its communications.
"Israel's Defense Forces have eradicated an entire generation of Hezbollah leadership who take with them a collective pool of experience that is collectively irreplaceable," Roule said.
Heiko Wimmen of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said Hezbollah was too "institutionalized to be decapitated."
But, he added, the organization can only withstand so many "dramatic blows" before "something will eventually give," he told Radio Farda.
Smoke Rises Above Beirut After Israeli Strikes Kill Hezbollah Chief
Flames and billows of smoke could be seen in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, early on September 28 after a night of Israeli strikes. The strikes killed Hassan Nasrallah, a Shi'ite cleric leading the militant group Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Thousands of residents of Beirut's southern suburbs spent the night on the streets after they heeded an Israeli warning and evacuated their homes before the strikes.
- By RFE/RL
Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed In Israeli Strikes
Iran-allied militant group Hezbollah has confirmed in a statement that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed, confirming the Israeli military's earlier claim that it had killed him in a series of strikes, which also claimed the lives of several other members of the U.S.-designated terrorist group.
"Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years," Hezbollah said in a statement on September 28.
Hezbollah vowed to continue its fight against Israel despite the death of its longtime leader. It gave no indication of who might succeed Nasrallah.
Earlier on September 28, Israel's military said that it killed Nasrallah in a series of strikes in Beirut a day earlier.
The Arabic spokesman of the Israeli Defense Forces, Avichay Adraee, said in a statement on X earlier that Nasrallah, Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, and a number of other commanders of this group were killed.
"The message is clear: We will reach everyone who threatens the citizens of Israel in the north, in the south, and on more distant fronts."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which has been targeted by sanctions from the United States, said a top commander, Abbas Nilforushan, 58, also died in the Israeli air strike.
Nilforushan himself was put under sanctions in 2022 by the U.S. Treasury, which identified him as the IRGC deputy commander for operations who it said had led an organization "directly in charge of protest suppression" in Iran.
The Israeli Defense Force also posted a message on X, saying, "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."
The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 11 people had been killed and more than 100 injured, although it said the toll was certain to rise after the ruins of several destroyed buildings were cleared.
The United Nations estimated that more than 50,000 people have fled Lebanon for neighboring Syria amid the Israeli strikes and that some 110,000 people had been displaced.
In the statement announcing Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah also offered its condolences to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an open admission of the group's close ties with Tehran.
Khamenei earlier on September 28 issued a statement condemning what he said was an Israeli "massacre" in Lebanon, but did not mention Nasrallah's fate.
"The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime," Khamenei said.
However, Reuters quoted sources as saying Khamenei had been transferred to a secure location, with heightened security measures in place.
Israeli media also reported on September 28 that Nasrallah's daughter, Zainab Nasrallah, had been killed in the strikes. Hezbollah has not confirmed the report. Nasrallah's son, Hadi, was killed in fighting against Israeli troops in 1997.
The Israeli military initially said on September 27 that the series of strikes had targeted Hezbollah's "central headquarters" located under residential buildings in Beirut without officially mentioning Nasrallah by name.
Amateur video showed massive blasts striking the area.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah's political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Hezbollah was established some 40 years ago with the aid of Iran, and Nasrallah joined the newly formed group in 1982. He oversaw it becoming one of the Middle East's most powerful paramilitary forces.
Led by Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.
Heiko Wimmen, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL that Israel's repeated blows, while not being able to annihilate Hezbollah completely, have degraded it to a large extent.
He said the latest strikes would press the group to show it can still react forcefully.
"It is obviously yet another dramatic blow. Many dramatic blows can add up to [make] a fundamental one. In general, Hamas is too much institutionalized to be decapitated, but [the Israelis] have wiped out so many of the cadres that something will give eventually. And then there is the lack to their credibility. If today is not enough for them to throw at Israel all they have, then the impression deepens that they just can't do it."
Analyst Norman Roule of the Washington-based National Security Institute said Israel has weakened Hezbollah to the point where the Lebanese government could actually expunge the group.
"Israel's Defense Forces have eradicated an entire generation of Hezbollah leadership who take with them a collective pool of experience that is collectively irreplaceable.... In a perfect world, the Lebanese government would use this moment to assert its authority and rid Lebanon of this armed group. [However], it is too early to say whether this will happen," Roule told RFE/RL.
Nasrallah's death is a huge embarrassment for Iran's leadership as well, Berlin-based analyst Ali Fathollah-nejad told RFE/RL.
"It would constitute the most heavy blow to Tehran's regional standing after the U.S. drone killing of General Qassem Soleimani. Nasrallah, Soleimani, and Khamenei -- Iran's supreme leader -- constituted the nucleus of Iran's expansive regional ambitions," Fathollah-nejad told RFE/RL before the death was confirmed.
Early on September 28, Israel's military launched a fresh round of strikes against what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut and in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, claiming that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the sites, after urging residents to evacuate them.
It also reported strikes in the ancient city of Tyre early on September 28.
Rocket launches by Hezbollah into Israel were also reported to be continuing. The group has been firing into Israel with increasing intensity since the beginning of the Gaza war, claiming it to be in support of the fighters of Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on September 27 said the United States did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike.
"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Singh told reporters.
On September 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the United Nations that actions against Hezbollah would not stop.
During his address to the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu gave arch-foe Iran a stark warning, saying there is "no place in Iran" that Israel can't reach if the Islamic republic continues to try and strike Israel.
He also said that “we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."
Netanyahu said the UN Security Council should reimpose sanctions on Tehran to ensure it doesn't get nuclear weapons, adding Israel will do "everything in its power" to prevent such a scenario.
"We're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and terror seeks to destroy our way of life," he said in reference to Iran.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Urges Israel, Hezbollah To 'Stop Firing' While Iran, Russia Condemn Attacks On Lebanon
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that "the path to diplomacy" is still open in the Middle East despite Israel's latest massive strike targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah's central headquarters in Lebanon, but he insisted Israel and Hezbollah must both "stop firing."
Elsewhere, Iran, Russia, and their allies condemned the strikes on a Beirut suburb -- which Israel TV said was aimed at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah -- with Tehran calling it a "war crime."
The attacks against Hezbollah came as many world leaders -- including those from the Middle East -- were in New York for the annual UN General Assembly gathering on September 27.
They also came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that his country would continue attacks against Hezbollah in its effort to "degrade" the militant group's capabilities.
The Israeli military acknowledged the attacks but did not directly confirm whether Nasrallah was the target, and his fate remained unknown and subject to widespread speculation in the hours following the action.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the global community to "stop" Israel from waging a "genocidal war" against Lebanon.
"This new Israeli aggression proves that the Israeli enemy doesn't care about all the international efforts and calls for a cease-fire," Mikati said.
In a news conference on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Blinken said, "The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there, and in our judgment, it is necessary. We will continue to work intensely."
"The most important thing to do through diplomacy is to try first to stop firing in both directions and then to use the time that we would have in such a cease-fire to see if we can reach a broader diplomatic agreement."
He added that Israel has a right to defend itself from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles inside Israeli territory with increased intensity since Israel's war in Gaza began. But he also added that the manner in which it defends itself is also important.
Leaders from around the world commented on the escalation.
EUROPEAN UNION -- Foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said, "What we do is to put all diplomatic pressure to a cease-fire, but nobody seems to be able to stop Netanyahu, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank."
He said the Israeli leader has made it clear his country won't "stop until Hezbollah is destroyed," which will likely mean "a long war."
RUSSIA -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the Middle East was at the precipice of a "full-blown" war following the strikes in Lebanon.
JORDAN -- Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters, "It is time to face the truth, and the truth is unless Netanyahu is stopped, unless this government is stopped, war will encompass all of us."
SAUDI ARABIA -- Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Israel's strikes had increased the risk of the situation tumbling out of control.
"We believe very, very, very strongly that a cease-fire is necessary, that the guns are not going to solve anything, that we need to move toward peace in our region, and that peace is firmly rooted in addressing the Palestinian issue," he said.
GERMANY -- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "We must avoid Lebanon becoming the next Gaza. This cannot be in Israel's interest either, especially not in terms of security.”
IRAN -- The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon warned of a "dangerous escalation" in the region. "This reprehensible crime...represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game," it said.
President Masud Pezeshkian also condemned the attacks, calling it a "clear and undeniable war crime."
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Israeli Strike Targets Hezbollah Leader In Beirut
Amateur video caught a huge blast in a suburb of Beirut as Israel said it had launched a strike targeting the headquarters of Hezbollah. Israeli TV said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target.
- By RFE/RL
Israel Targets Hezbollah Leader In Massive Beirut Attack
Israeli launched a massive strike on what it said was Iran-allied Hezbollah's central headquarters in a Beirut suburb, with Israeli TV saying leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that actions against the designated terrorist organization would not stop.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s army spokesman, on September 27 said the country’s forces had targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters located under residential buildings.
"Moments ago, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization…taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely," Hagari said.
WATCH: Amateur video caught a huge blast in a suburb of Beirut as Israel said it had launched a strike targeting the headquarters of Hezbollah. Israeli TV said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target.
The Israeli military later said it had launched further widespread attacks on Hezbollah sites following the earlier strikes on the headquarters as it continued to "degrade and dismantle" the group's capabilities.
Shortly after midnight, the Israeli military said it had launched fresh strikes on three additional buildings in south Beirut, claiming that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the sites, after urging residents to evacuate them. It also reported strikes in the ancient city of Tyre early on September 28.
Israel also said its warplanes were patrolling near the Beirut Airport and insisted it would not allow Iran to transfer weapons to Hezbollah through the facility.
Speculation was rife on Nasrallah's whereabouts and condition following the attack, although no official information was immediately available.
The Israeli military did not confirm that Nasrallah was the target of the attack.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters that it "was too early" to tell whether Nasrallah had been hit in the strike.
The official said it was "hoped" Israel would not have to conduct a ground operation in Lebanon but that it would not rule it out.
Led by Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.
Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV reported at least four buildings were destroyed in the strikes, that there were heavy casualties, and that ambulances were headed to the site. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and more than 90 were injured.
Video posted online indicated large areas of devastation.
Shahan Kandaharian, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-language Azdak daily in Beirut, reported hearing strong explosions.
"We learned that it was an air strike at Hezbollah's headquarters located in Beirut's southern suburb," he told RFE/RL's Armenian Service.
“The whole city was shaking. I was at the office and we could clearly hear the explosions. I heard 10 explosions, one following another," he added, adding it "was a very heavy strike."
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the United States did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike.
"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Singh told reporters.
Earlier, Netanyahu gave arch foe Iran a stark warning during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, saying there is "no place in Iran" that Israel can't reach if the Islamic republic continues to try and strike Israel.
He also said that “we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."
As the Israeli prime minister began his speech, several delegations -- including Iran's -- walked out of the UNGA in protest while many who remained in the hall cheered or yelled angrily.
Netanyahu was preceded by speakers from Slovenia and Pakistan, both of whom called for him to stop the war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
He said he didn't plan on giving a speech at the meeting this year but after hearing the "lies and slander leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight."
Netanyahu then quickly turned his focus to Iran, which he blamed for "organizing" the current outbreak of violence in the Middle East.
"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us, we will strike you," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.
"There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."
Netanyahu said the UN Security Council should reimpose sanctions on Tehran to ensure it doesn't get nuclear weapons, adding Israel will do "everything in its power" to prevent such a scenario.
"We're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and terror seeks to destroy our way of life," he said in reference to Iran.
Netenyahu's speech came amid a diplomatic push by the United States, France, and other Western allies for a 21-day cease-fire after fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border intensified this week with Israel bombarding what it says are targets of Iran-backed Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah, which Israel says has launched thousands of rockets at its territory over the past year, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
The intensified fighting has killed hundreds, according to Lebanese health officials, with aid agencies and governments on both sides saying tens of thousands more have been displaced.
Amid fears the conflict will spread across the entire Middle East, Washington has warned any further escalation would only make it harder for civilians on both sides to return home.
The White House has said the cease-fire proposal had been "coordinated" with Israel, but Netanyahu's office has said the prime minister has not responded to the proposal.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas fighters spilled across the border last October and killed some 1,200 people inside Israeli territory. Some 240 more people were taken back into the Gaza Strip as hostages.
Israel has launched a withering offensive against Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre.
In his speech to the UNGA, Netanyahu vowed "Hamas has got to go" and would have no role in the reconstruction of Gaza as he vowed to fight until "total victory."
With reporting by Reuters
- By Yassin Jaber and
- Frud Bezhan
Haunted By War: One Man's Fight For Survival As Israel Pounds Southern Lebanon
Abu Muhammad is one of only two people still living in a 12-story residential building in Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre.
Most of the city’s 200,000 residents have fled since Israel launched devastating air raids across the country on September 23.
It was chaos. I saw women giving birth on the side of the road.... There are bodies lying in the rubble. There’s nobody to bury them.”-- Salah, who fled the town of Aabbassiyeh
“There’s no life here anymore,” said Muhammad, who is a building janitor. “Everyone is gone. Nearly all the shops are closed. There is only one bakery open.”
Israel’s ongoing air strikes targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, has taken a huge toll on civilians.
Nearly 700 people have been killed and over 100,000 displaced just this week in Lebanon. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been accused of firing some 8,000 rockets into northern Israel in the past year, uprooting around 60,000 people, and killing several dozen, including civilians. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
Scores have been killed in intense shelling and air strikes in and around Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth-largest city and one of the targets of Israel’s air campaign, residents said.
“When an air strike lands close by, I run to a nearby hospital for cover,” said Muhammad. “Otherwise, I stand guard near the entrance gate of the building so nobody tries to break in.”
Muhammad, who is in his 50s, said there is a severe shortage of fuel in the city and electricity is only available for a few hours in the evening. The prices of basic goods have skyrocketed, he said, and many people remaining in the city are relying on their emergency food supplies.
Only the thunder of shelling, the thud of bombs, and the roar of Israeli warplanes puncture the eerie silence enveloping Tyre, a coastal city along the Mediterranean Sea that is popular with vacationers, he said.
Muhammad moved to Tyre, known locally as Sur, after civil war erupted in 2011 in neighboring Syria. He sent his wife and three children back to Syria several months ago.
But Muhammad said he will remain in Tyre, despite the risks, even as tens of thousands of people frantically try to escape southern Lebanon for the relative safety of the capital, Beirut, and northern Lebanon.
The air strikes have been intense. Many people have been killed or wounded. There’s shelling all around us."-- Muhammad, a Palestinian refugee living in Tyre
“I’m already a refugee,” he said. “Where will I go? I don’t even have the means to leave.”
A bus ticket from Tyre to Beirut usually costs around $3. Now, he said, bus companies are charging up to $100 per person. A taxi costs at least $300, he said.
Escalating Conflict
Israel’s aerial bombardment of Lebanon is the deadliest since the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
The two foes have traded constant cross-border strikes since Israel launched its devastating war in the Gaza Strip in October, following an unprecedented attack on Israel by the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Hezbollah has launched rockets into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
Israel has intensified its attacks against Hezbollah in recent weeks. On September 17-18, suspected Israeli attacks targeting electronic devices used by members of the armed group killed dozens of people and injured thousands.
Just days later, Israel launched what some have described as one the most intense air raids in modern warfare, hitting thousands of targets in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
Israeli officials in recent days have suggested that the country is preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon even as the United States attempts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
'We Can’t Go Back'
As the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict escalates, ordinary Lebanese and Israelis are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Salah, an academic, fled the town of Aabbassiyeh, near Tyre, with his wife and son after their next-door neighbor’s house was flattened by an Israeli air strike.
“As I was driving out of the town, rockets and missiles were landing near us,” he said. “I saw a residential building collapse behind us.”
The drive to Beirut usually takes around one hour. But Salah’s family was on the road for nearly 30 hours, with the country’s main highway choked with thousands of cars.
“It was chaos,” Salah said. “I saw women giving birth on the side of the road. Some cars that had run out of fuel were abandoned. There were up to 10 people crammed in some cars. People were sitting on top of cars or in the trunk.”
Salah and his family are staying in a small apartment in Beirut, which has also been the target of Israeli strikes, with two other families. He does not know when he will be able to return home.
“The worst part is that we can’t go back,” he said. “If one of our relatives is killed there, we can’t bury them. The town is empty and there are bodies lying in the rubble. There’s nobody there to bury them.”
Even as many flee Tyre and neighboring towns, some residents are unable or unwilling to leave.
Among them is Muhammad, a Palestinian refugee whose parents fled to Lebanon decades ago.
“The air strikes in Tyre have been intense,” he said. “Many people have been killed or wounded. There’s shelling all around us. There’s the constant noise of jets flying over the city.”
Despite the grave danger, Muhammad is adamant that he and his family will not leave.
“If we die, I'd rather die in my own home,” said the father of three. “Whenever we hear an air strike, we rush to the basement. We hold hands and we pray.”
- By Kian Sharifi
What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?
Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
The Shi'ite group emerged during the chaos of Lebanon's civil war and in response to Israel's invasion in 1982.
Hezbollah is believed to have been created by Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the country's armed forces.
The aim of Shi'a-majority Iran was to unite Lebanon's Shi'ite political groups and militias under one organization, says Danny Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies.
Hezbollah was also intended to be a key part of Tehran's deterrence strategy.
"Iran sees the organization as the main factor that will deter Israel or the U.S. from going to war against Iran and works tirelessly to build the organization's power," Citrinowicz said.
The U.S. State Department says Iran has armed and trained Hezbollah fighters and injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the group. The State Department has previously described Hezbollah as "the most technically capable terrorist group in the world."
Hezbollah has around 40,000 fighters, according to the office of the U.S. director of national intelligence, and is said to have over 150,000 rockets and missiles at its disposal, including weapons that can penetrate deep into Israeli territory.
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah has turned itself "into the world's most powerful nonstate actor."
Citrinowicz says Iran may not dictate orders to the organization but Tehran "profoundly influences" its decision-making process.
He describes Hezbollah not as a proxy but "an Iranian partner managing Tehran's Middle East strategy."
Hezbollah is a key part of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, a loose alliance of proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel and the United States.
Led by Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.
Citrinowicz said Tehran "almost depends" on the Lebanese group to oversee its relations with other groups in the axis of resistance.
Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 triggered a 34-day conflict with Israel, which launched air strikes and a ground offensive into Lebanon.
The war, which ended after a UN-brokered cease-fire, was a major boost to Hezbollah's political standing in Lebanon and the region.
While Hezbollah remains a politically influential player in Lebanon, its support base does not extend beyond the country's Shi'ite community.
Many members of Lebanon's Christian, Druze, and Sunni Muslim communities accuse Hezbollah of operating outside the state's control and of dragging the country into regional conflicts.
"Hezbollah doesn't enjoy the same level of popularity and public support that it did back in 2006," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He attributes the decline in Hezbollah's popularity to a series of economic and political scandals involving the group in recent years.
Hezbollah has suffered major setbacks in recent months, with Israel killing many of its senior commanders, neutralizing a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupting its communications.
While the group has been weakened, experts say the Lebanese militant group should not be written off.
"Hezbollah has enough resources and experience to inflict considerable damage to Israel in a ground war," Azizi added, noting that the group is better armed and trained than the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
- By Kian Sharifi
Israel's Deadly Strikes On Lebanon Mark Start Of New War
Israel has conducted the deadliest bombardment of Lebanon since a devastating five-week conflict with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in 2006.
The September 23-24 attacks that killed hundreds of people mark the start of a new war between Israel and its longtime foe, Hezbollah, experts say.
The sides have exchanged constant cross-border strikes since Israel launched its war in the Gaza Strip in October. Hezbollah has said it has fired rockets on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
But Israel's deadly air strikes, coming soon after a series of exploding device attacks in Lebanon that was widely blamed on Israel, indicate the outbreak of a new conflict.
"Both sides can escalate further, but we're already at a level of violence that matches the Second Lebanon War" in 2006, said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at the Bahrain-based Le Beck International consultancy.
The distinction between the ongoing conflict and a full-scale war "is becoming so narrow that it's almost irrelevant," Horowitz added.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is reeling from a series of setbacks in recent months as Israel has assassinated key members of its leadership and command structure. Israel's suspected attack last week targeting pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters also compromised the group's communications.
Despite suffering significant losses, experts say the Lebanese militant group should not be written off.
Horowitz warned that putting Hezbollah "fully out of combat is not a realistic objective," given its military arsenal as well as its manpower, which numbers in the tens of thousands.
Hezbollah has retaliated to Israel's aerial bombardment by firing rockets at northern Israel. But the group has yet to use its more sophisticated weapons, such as drones and medium- and long-range rockets that can strike deep into Israeli territory.
Hezbollah insists it will continue to strike Israel unless a cease-fire deal is reached to end the Gaza war. Israel, however, says its goal is to ensure security along its northern border with Lebanon so that displaced Israelis can return home.
"The Israelis think that if they apply enough pressure on Hezbollah, the group will eventually agree to decouple the Lebanon front from the Gaza front -- or face so many losses that its ability to continue the war of attrition it waged against Israel for 11 months will be significantly reduced," Horowitz said.
But experts say Israel is adopting a dangerous strategy by ramping up its attacks against Hezbollah.
"The assessment may be that Israel can neutralize a significant part of Hezbollah's arsenal before the group can use it to carry out massive attacks against central Israel, and that Iran and Hezbollah may also be deterred from escalating," Horowitz said. "That's a very risky bet."
Iran, Hezbollah's key backer, has been reluctant to directly get involved in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, London-based political commentator Jalali Hashemi said Hezbollah's relatively muted response to the September 23-24 attacks and Iran's unwillingness to get into a direct confrontation with Israel have emboldened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry out "more devastating attacks."
Iran and Israel have come to the brink of war on several occasions, including after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran in July. Tehran blamed Israel and pledged to retaliate, although there has been no direct military response by Iran.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian warned that Israel's air campaign in Lebanon "may turn into a regional war."
Ali Mohtadi, a Britain-based regional expert, said that during the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006 Tehran refrained from getting directly involved in the hostilities. Instead, Iran provided its ally with logistical support and weapons.
"It is possible that this time, even though Iran is in a different place compared to 2006, it will continue to provide the same level of support to Lebanon [Hezbollah]," Mohtadi told Radio Farda.
With reporting by Elaheh Ravanshad and Hooman Askary of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By Kian Sharifi
Full-Blown War Between Israel And Iran-Backed Hezbollah 'Not In The Interests' Of Tehran
For months, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have traded constant cross-border attacks that have killed dozens and displaced thousands of people.
Now there are fears of a full-blown war between the foes amid the fallout from a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah quickly denied it was responsible for the July 27 attack that killed 12 people, including children. But Israel has vowed to retaliate against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Experts say no side wants an all-out war in a region that has been reeling since Israel in October launched its war against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the Gaza Strip and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.
Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at the Bahrain-based Le Beck International consultancy, said Israel and Hezbollah are on the brink of a major escalation.
"Though, I do think that neither side is interested in one," he said, adding that "a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is very dangerous" for Iran.
Tehran is Hezbollah's main ally, and the Lebanese militant group is a key member of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, its loose network of militant groups and proxies that aid it in opposing Israel and the United States.
Hezbollah is also considered a key part of Iran's efforts to deter Israel or Washington from going to war against Tehran.
'Too Costly' For Iran
Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have carried out attacks against Israel after it launched its devastating war in Gaza, which came shortly after Hamas's October 7 attack in Israel that killed around 1,200 people.
Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said the goal of the attacks was to "pressure Israel" and "save Hamas," which is backed by Iran.
"This coordination has been clearly supported by Iran, but the final aim is not to expand the scope of the war but to end it," he added. "I don't think there is any way Iran would benefit from a war between Israel and Hezbollah."
Azizi said Iran and its allies have become increasingly concerned about the cost of their hostilities with Israel, which has retaliated by targeting the commanders, military facilities, and financial activities of Iran-backed groups including Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is considered Iran's leading militant partner, helping Tehran manage its network of regional state and nonstate allies.
Horowitz described the Lebanese group as "the most powerful tool in Iran's arsenal" that in some ways may even be "more powerful than Iran itself" in deterring Israel.
If a war breaks out, Iran could be dragged in to defend its key ally, Horowitz said.
"And if Israel is already paying the price of fighting Hezbollah, Iran's main military force, it may also be willing to take more risks vis-a-vis Iran."
Hezbollah's Balancing Act
Hezbollah has not usually shied away from claiming attacks on Israeli targets. But it issued a rare denial of responsibility after the attack in the Golan Heights.
Horowitz attributed the denial to the civilian death toll, but also because the victims were all members of the Druze community, an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious minority in Lebanon, Syria, the Golan Heights, and northern Israel.
Horowitz said most members of the Druze community in the Golan Heights, which was annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981, do not see themselves as Israelis.
He added that Hezbollah is also aware that the Lebanese public does not want another costly war with Israel.
In 2006, Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli border guards ignited a devastating five-week conflict with Israel that killed 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians.
If there was a full-blown war with Israel, "many in Lebanon may ask why Hezbollah gambled the fate of a country already on the brink, and how the killing of Druze children and teenagers helped the Palestinian cause that Hezbollah claims to defend," Horowitz said.
What If War Breaks Out?
With tensions running high and Israel's security cabinet on July 29 authorizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retaliate against Hezbollah, the prospect of a full-blown war appears to be real.
On the evening of July 30, Israel launched an air strike in Beirut that it said killed Fuad Shukr, one of Hezbollah’s leading military figures since it was founded in the 1980s. Hours later, Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed on a visit to Tehran. While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike against Haniyeh, Iran explicitly blamed its archfoe.
Prior to the two killings, Azizi said Iran and its regional allies were "prepared for another phase of significant but incremental escalation against Israel."
But he said whether Iran gets directly involved could depend on how a potential war between Israel and Hezbollah plays out.
If war broke out, members of the axis of resistance would likely intensify their attacks against Israel while also targeting U.S. troops and bases in the region in a bid to pressure Washington to rein in Israel, Azizi said.
He added that Hezbollah could defend itself and possibly respond if Israel limits its offensive to an aerial assault. But given that Israeli attacks have depleted its command in recent months, the Lebanese group could struggle to fend off a ground offensive, he said.
In that case, the overseas arm of the Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Quds Force, could put boots on the ground to help Hezbollah, Azizi said.
If the threat to Hezbollah grew, he added, Tehran could decide to directly target Israel as it did in April, when it launched an unprecedented direct air attack against its archenemy.
Horowitz said while direct Iranian involvement would be possible if Hezbollah sustained critical damage, Iran will still try to steer clear of exposing itself directly.
"After all, Hezbollah's role [in Iran's view] is to defend Tehran -- not the opposite," he said.
This article has been updated to include an Israeli strike in Beirut on July 30 and a second strike, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on July 31.
- By Kian Sharifi
Israel And Hezbollah Edge Closer To Conflict Neither Side Desires
Israel and its Iran-backed Lebanese foe Hezbollah insist they do not seek a full-scale conflict, but they continue to take steps toward war.
It took the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hezbollah nearly a month to deliver on its promised attack against Israel for the killing of its most senior commander, Fuad Shukr.
But Israel saw the attack coming, taking what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as preemptive strikes against Hezbollah's rocket launchers on August 25, apparently reducing the scale of the Iran-backed group's offensive.
Raz Zimmt, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said that while neither side wants an all-out war, each party is "very determined to impose its own equation on the other."
They continue to take risks by attacking each other, but mistakes and miscalculations could spark the very conflict they want to avoid, Zimmt warned.
"This ongoing, so-called limited conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is very difficult to manage," he added.
The IDF says around 100 fighter jets took part in its preemptive operation, while Hezbollah claims it launched more than 300 rockets and drones against Israel. If the numbers are true, this marks the biggest exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah since the 2006 war, which ended in a stalemate.
Without Israel's preemptive strikes, the scale of Hezbollah's attack would have been devastating, Zimmt said. That would have prompted a "severe" Israeli response, he added.
Despite the heavy exchange of fire, the attacks do not -- at least on the surface -- seem to have affected negotiations to establish a cease-fire in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages from Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.
Zimmt said while he is "not optimistic" about the prospects of a cease-fire, such a deal could help de-escalate tensions -- although, even that, he added, is only speculation.
Hezbollah Going Solo?
The Middle East has been on edge for weeks, expecting not just an attack on Israel from Hezbollah but also from Iran.
Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel after a bombing in uptown Tehran killed Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Israel has not commented on the attack.
Haniyeh was killed hours after Shukr, widely seen as the second-most powerful person in Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut.
Many assessed that an Iranian attack on Israel would come in concert with strikes from Hezbollah.
But the Lebanese group, which is more an Iranian partner than a proxy, appears to have grown tired of waiting and struck out on its own.
"It is very important to note that Hezbollah didn't wait for the Iranians," Zimmt said, arguing that one reason why Hezbollah waited so long to launch its retaliatory strike was that it had hoped to attack Israel alongside Iran.
However, the Lebanese group likely concluded that a direct Iranian strike was not coming, at least for now.
"This might have some impact -- perhaps not immediately -- on Hezbollah's relationship with Iran," Zimmt said.
- By Frud Bezhan
Israel's Suspected Attack On Electronic Devices In Lebanon Marks New Phase In Hezbollah Hostilities
A suspected Israeli attack targeting electronic devices used by members of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appears to mark a new phase in the escalating hostilities between the longtime foes.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in deadly tit-for-tat cross-border attacks since the devastating war in the Gaza Strip erupted in October 2023.
Experts say the coordinated September 17 attack in Lebanon that targeted pagers and killed at least 12 people and wounded thousands of others, many of them believed to be Hezbollah fighters, was a significant escalation that could make a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah inevitable.
Hezbollah’s leadership and rank-and-file turned to hand-held pagers to skirt Israeli surveillance on mobile-phone networks in Lebanon.
A new deadly wave of explosions hit Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon on September 18. Walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters were targeted.
Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said there had been a "pattern of incremental escalation" between Israel and Hezbollah in recent months.
Hezbollah has been striking deeper into northern Israel and displacing tens of thousands of Israeli citizens. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its assassination campaign against Hezbollah inside Lebanon.
"At some point, this will get out of hand and explode into an all-out war," Azizi said.
The explosions in Lebanon came after Israel on September 16 said it was expanding the focus of its almost yearlong campaign against EU- and U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza to confront Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon. Israel also added the safe return of its citizens to the north as a new goal in the war.
Ali Sardarzadeh, a Middle East analyst based in Germany, said the Lebanon attack was intended to send a "clear message to Hezbollah to stop the power display they are engaging in."
Israel is "pressuring Hezbollah both through warfare and diplomacy," Sardarzadeh told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Ali Mohtadi, a Britain-based regional expert, said the "explosion of pagers could mark a new phase of a [Israel-Hezbollah] war that has been ongoing for nearly a year."
Mohdati told Radio Farda that a full-scale war was against the interests of both Israel and Hezbollah but added that hostilities had "reached a stage where it could spiral out of control at any moment."
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the explosions and vowed to retaliate. The Israeli military has not commented.
Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at the London-based School of Oriental and African Studies, said the explosions were an embarrassment and major security breach for Hezbollah. But she said a full-blown conflict was not inevitable.
"With Hezbollah rendered vulnerable, Israel is continuing its military campaign in southern Lebanon," Khatib said. "But it will not necessarily escalate its military engagement into full-scale war as the pagers attack itself is a deterrent for Hezbollah."
A direct conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could trigger a wider regional war that would draw in Iran, Hezbollah's key backer and Israel's archenemy.
Iran's proxies, including Hezbollah, have launched attacks against Israel in support of Palestinians since the Gaza war erupted.
Iran and Israel have come to the brink of war on several occasions, including after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran in July. Tehran blamed Israel and pledged to retaliate, although there has been no direct military response by Iran.
Among those wounded in the September 17 attack in Lebanon was Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Iranian media reported that he suffered injuries "to the hand and the face."
Experts said that it was unlikely that the attack in Lebanon would trigger direct Iranian retaliation against Israel.
"I think Iran will consider this primarily a Hezbollah issue despite the injuries suffered by the Iranian ambassador," said Raz Zimmt, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
"We will probably see discussions and consultations between Iran and Hezbollah concerning a possible retaliation, but my sense is that Iran prefers the response to come from Hezbollah."
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