Come on, hit me: Hezbollah challenges Israel

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his group has multiplied its weapons capabilities and manpower Pic Al-Manar/AFP

In recent weeks, Israel has been surprised by Hezbollah’s firepower. The so-called Iron Dome Israel is so proud of for its capability to destroy oncoming projectiles appears to be less effective against Hezbollah’s latest weapons. 

When Hezbollah tells the Middle East’s most powerful nation, Israel, “Come on, hit me,” it demonstrates its readiness for a fight and its confidence that it could teach the enemy an unforgettable lesson. It is an aggressive challenge.
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, the Houthis in Yemen, and several armed groups in Iraq form the axis of resistance against Israeli expansionism and Western imperialism. Hezbollah’s challenge to Israel comes despite its knowledge that Israel is no respecter of international law and international humanitarian laws during war. Hezbollah is also not unaware of Israel’s devastating military doctrine known as Dahiya, which does not differentiate between civilian and military targets. The doctrine is so-called after Israel pulverised the Dahieh quarter of Beirut during the 2006 war on Lebanon.

Explaining this doctrine in 2008, General Gadi Eizenkot, commander of the Israeli Defence Force’s northern front, had this to say:
“What happened in the Dahieh quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which shots will be fired in the direction of Israel. We will wield disproportionate power and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases. This isn’t a suggestion. It’s a plan that has already been authorised. Every one of the Shiite villages is a military site, with headquarters, an intelligence centre, and a communications centre. Dozens of rockets are buried in houses, basements, and attics, and the village is run by Hezbollah men. Hezbollah understands well that its fire from within villages will lead to their destruction.”
If Hezbollah knows well what the Dahiya doctrine entails, why is this Lebanese David aiming his catapult at the Israeli Goliath?
A brief background is necessary to understand the escalation of the current tension between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel shares its northern border with Lebanon’s south, an area dominated by Shiite Muslims, who constitute 32 percent of Lebanon’s 5.4 million population. Sunni Muslims make up 31 percent, and Christians—mostly Maronite—30 percent.

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 after Israel’s invasion and occupation of Lebanon, a 10,452-square-kilometre country. Hezbollah’s main goals are resisting Israeli expansionism and Western imperialism and contributing to the social welfare of the Lebanese people. Its continuous resistance forced Israel to end its occupation of Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year military presence.
But war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah once again in 2006, when, in a daring attack, Hezbollah killed eight soldiers inside Israel and kidnapped two. South Lebanon was pounded by Israel for 34 days, but Hezbollah successfully countered the attack with weapons supplied by Iran and destroyed an Israeli frigate and several tanks, although the civilians paid a heavy price. More than 1,100 civilians were killed, and South Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure, including its residential complexes, was destroyed, but Hezbollah claimed a historic victory when Israel withdrew.
Since then, the popularity and influence of Hezbollah have been on the rise. It is the most powerful member of the Iran-led axis of resistance.
Since Israel began its war on Gaza in response to a Hamas raid into Israel on October 7 last year, Hezbollah, in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance group, has been attacking Northern Israel in an apparent bid to thin out Israeli military resources and weaken its ability to continue the Gaza war. As a result of these Hezbollah attacks, Israel has evacuated some 90,000 settlers from northern Israel. Short of a ground invasion, Israel has been hitting Hezbollah targets, killing senior members.
In recent weeks, Israel has been surprised by Hezbollah’s firepower. The so-called Iron Dome Israel is so proud of for its capability to destroy oncoming projectiles appears to be less effective against Hezbollah’s latest weapons. Israel has suffered major fires in its northern territory due to Hezbollah attacks. On Tuesday, in yet another daring act and a huge embarrassment to Israel, Hezbollah posted on social media video footage captured by its spy drones deep inside Israel. The clips showed the Haifa Port and sensitive Israeli sites such as chemical and oil storages. The message Hezbollah tries to deliver to Israel is that its drones can go undetected and unintercepted by the Iron Dome.

In a major statement and a warning to Israel on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to intensify the missile attacks on Israel and said the group has enough manpower and firepower not only to take on Israel but also for an invasion.
The televised address came days after the death of senior Hezbollah commander Sami Taleb Abullah in an Israeli attack and against the backdrop of a United States special envoy visiting Lebanon to deliver a threat to the Lebanese militia group and Israeli leaders announcing their plan for an all-out war on Lebanon.
Rejecting the US special envoy’s mission, Nasrallah said the threats and warnings the mediators bring—and what is being said in the Israeli media—about a war in Lebanon “do not scare us.”
The US has said it has Israel’s back in the event of a full-scale war against Hezbollah and has increased its naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea region. But if a full-scale war breaks out, Yemen’s Houthi rebels as well as pro-Iranian militias in Iraq will also join in in support of Hezbollah. Vulnerable to their attacks will be US facilities in the Middle East. Although Iran is unlikely to be drawn in, it certainly won’t sit idle.
The possibility of the war deteriorating into a region-wide conflict cannot be ruled out. In his speech, Nasrallah also threatened to attack Cyprus if it allowed its military facilities to be used by Israel for attacks on Lebanon.
He warned that Hezbollah’s counteroffensive will come with “no restraint, no rules, and no ceilings.”
“The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst... and that no place... will be spared our rockets,” Nasrallah said.
He said the only way the impending war could be averted was by bringing an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the Zionist state was very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. “In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed,” he wrote in a social media post. 
It needs to be said that the annexation of Lebanon is part of the Zionist plan for Greater Israel, or Eretz Israel.
At a time when Lebanon is struggling to come out of its worst economic crisis, the last thing it wants is a war. Its economy has been suffering from the impact of the COVID epidemic and the port explosion in 2020, besides the prolonged political instability. The adverse economic consequences of the Gaza war spreading into Lebanon and the wider region are beyond developing nations’ power to cushion the impact. 
The way forward is not for Israel to start another war with the full backing of the US, but to end the Gaza war and implement the UN-recognised two-state solution.