Hezbollah has a military branch known as the
Jihad Council, one component of which is
Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya ("The Islamic Resistance"), and is the possible sponsor of a number of lesser-known militant groups, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself, including the Organisation of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organisation, the Organisation of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad. Some scholars have regarded Hezbollah as a
resistance movement.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the disarmament of militia with the
Taif agreement at the end of the
Lebanese civil war. Hezbollah denounced, and protested against, the resolution. The 2006 military conflict with Israel has increased the controversy. Failure to disarm remains a violation of the resolution and agreement as well as subsequent
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Since then both Israel and Hezbollah have asserted that the organisation has gained in military strength. A Lebanese public opinion poll taken in August 2006 shows that most of the
Shia did not believe that Hezbollah should disarm after the
2006 Lebanon war, while the majority of Sunni, Druze and Christians believed that they should. The Lebanese cabinet, under president
Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora, guidelines state that Hezbollah enjoys the right to "liberate occupied lands". In 2009, a Hezbollah commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "[W]e have far more rockets and missiles [now] than we did in 2006."
Lebanese Resistance Brigades The Lebanese Resistance Brigades (), also known as the Lebanese Brigades to Resist the Israeli Occupation, were formed by Hezbollah in 1997 as a multi-faith (Christian, Druze, Sunni and Shia) volunteer force to combat the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. With the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the organisation was disbanded. In 2009, the Resistance Brigades were reactivated, mainly comprising Sunni supporters from the southern city of
Sidon. Its strength was reduced in late 2013 from 500 to 200–250 due to residents' complaints about some fighters of the group exacerbating tensions with the local community.
The beginning of its military activities: the South Lebanon conflict Hezbollah has been involved in several cases of armed conflict with Israel: during the
1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict, Hezbollah waged a guerrilla campaign against Israeli forces occupying Southern Lebanon. In 1982, the
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was based in Southern Lebanon and was firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon. Israel invaded Lebanon to evict the PLO, and Hezbollah became an armed organisation to expel the Israelis. Iranian clerics, most notably Fzlollah Mahallati supervised this activity. It became the main politico-military force among the Shia community in Lebanon and the main arm of what became known later as the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon. With the collapse of the
SLA, and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israel withdrew on 24 May 2000 six weeks before the announced 7 July date." Israel withdrew in accordance with 1978's
United Nations Security Council Resolution 425.) leads some scholars to be sceptical of implicating Hezbollah in these attacks. and
1983 Beirut barracks bombing, both attributed to Hezbollah by some Western intelligence agencies. Hezbollah denied responsibility for both the embassy bombing and the barracks bombing. Recent research has shown that the kidnappers were of various political backgrounds, and were often motivated by
familial feuds or were looking for
monetary ransom. Since 1990, terror acts and attempts of which Hezbollah has been blamed include the following bombings and attacks against civilians and diplomats: • The
1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, killing 29, in Argentina. • The
1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish cultural centre, killing 85, in Argentina. Ansar Allah claimed responsibility. • In 2002,
Singapore accused Hezbollah of recruiting Singaporeans in a failed 1990s plot to attack US and Israeli ships in the Singapore Straits. • 15 January 2008, bombing of a US Embassy vehicle in Beirut. • In 2009, a
Hezbollah plot in Egypt was uncovered, where Egyptian authorities arrested 49 men for planning attacks against
Israeli and Egyptian targets in the
Sinai Peninsula. • The
2012 Burgas bus bombing, killing 6, in Bulgaria. Hezbollah denied responsibility. • Training Shia insurgents against US troops during the
Iraq War.
During the Bosnian War Hezbollah provided fighters to fight on the Bosnian Muslim side during the
Bosnian War, as part of the broader Iranian involvement. "The Bosnian Muslim government is a client of the Iranians", wrote
Robert Baer, a CIA agent stationed in Sarajevo during the war. "If it's a choice between the CIA and the Iranians, they'll take the Iranians any day." By the war's end, public opinion polls showed some 86% Bosnian Muslims had a positive opinion of Iran. In conjunction, Hezbollah initially sent 150 fighters to fight against the
Bosnian Serb Army, the Bosnian Muslims' main opponent in the war. All Shia foreign advisors and fighters withdrew from Bosnia at the end of conflict.
Conflict with Israel , May 2000 On 25 July 1993, following Hezbollah's killing of seven Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, Israel launched
Operation Accountability, known in Lebanon as the Seven Day War, during which the IDF carried out their heaviest artillery and air attacks on targets in southern Lebanon since 1982. The aim of the operation was to eradicate the threat posed by Hezbollah and to force the civilian population north to Beirut so as to put pressure on the Lebanese Government to restrain Hezbollah. The fighting ended when an unwritten understanding was agreed to by the warring parties. Apparently, the 1993 understanding provided that Hezbollah combatants would not fire rockets at northern Israel, while Israel would not attack civilians or civilian targets in Lebanon. In April 1996, after continued Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, the Israeli armed forces launched
Operation Grapes of Wrath, which was intended to wipe out Hezbollah's base in southern Lebanon. Over 100 Lebanese refugees were
killed by the shelling of a UN base at
Qana, in what the Israeli military said was a mistake. Following several days of negotiations, the two sides signed the
Grapes of Wrath Understandings on 26 April 1996. A cease-fire was agreed upon between Israel and Hezbollah, which would be effective on 27 April 1996. Both sides agreed that civilians should not be targeted, which meant that Hezbollah would be allowed to continue its military activities against IDF forces inside Lebanon. The soldiers were killed either during the attack or in its immediate aftermath. Israel Defence Minister
Shaul Mofaz said that Hezbollah abducted the soldiers and then killed them. The bodies of the slain soldiers were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2004. Israel responded with
airstrikes and
artillery fire on targets in Lebanon that damaged Lebanese infrastructure, including Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, which Israel said that Hezbollah used to import weapons and supplies, an air and naval
blockade, and a ground invasion of
southern Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the IDF in
guerrilla warfare from hardened positions. The war continued until 14 August 2006. Hezbollah was responsible for thousands of
Katyusha rocket attacks against Israeli civilian towns and cities in northern Israel, which Hezbollah said were in retaliation for Israel's killing of civilians and targeting Lebanese infrastructure. The conflict is believed to have killed 1,191–1,300 Lebanese citizens including combatants and 165 Israelis including soldiers.
2010 gas field claims In 2010, Hezbollah claimed that the Dalit and
Tamar gas field, discovered by
Noble Energy roughly west of
Haifa in Israeli exclusive economic zone, belong to Lebanon, and warned Israel against extracting gas from them. Senior officials from Hezbollah warned that they would not hesitate to use weapons to defend Lebanon's natural resources. Figures in the
March 14 Forces stated in response that Hezbollah was presenting another excuse to hold on to its arms. Lebanese MP
Antoine Zahra said that the issue is another item "in the endless list of excuses" meant to justify the continued existence of Hezbollah's arsenal.
2011 attack in Istanbul In July 2011, Italian newspaper
Corriere della Sera reported, based on US and Turkish sources,
2012 planned attack in Cyprus In July 2012, a Lebanese man was detained by Cyprus police on possible charges relating to terrorism laws for planning attacks against Israeli tourists. According to security officials, the man was planning attacks for Hezbollah in Cyprus and admitted this after questioning. The police were alerted about the man due to an urgent message from Israeli intelligence. The Lebanese man was in possession of photographs of Israeli targets and had information on Israeli airlines flying back and forth from Cyprus, and planned to blow up a plane or tour bus. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Iran assisted the Lebanese man with planning the attacks.
2012 Burgas attack Following an investigation into the 2012 Burgas bus bombing terrorist attack against Israeli citizens in
Bulgaria, the Bulgarian government officially accused the Lebanese-militant movement Hezbollah of committing the attack. Five Israeli citizens, the Bulgarian bus driver, and the bomber were killed. The bomb exploded as the Israeli tourists boarded a bus from the airport to their hotel.
Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Bulgaria's interior minister, reported that the two suspects responsible were members of the militant wing of Hezbollah; he said the suspected terrorists entered Bulgaria on 28 June and remained until 18 July. Israel had already previously suspected Hezbollah for the attack. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu called the report "further corroboration of what we have already known, that Hezbollah and its
Iranian patrons are orchestrating a worldwide campaign of terror that is spanning countries and continents". Netanyahu said that the attack in Bulgaria was just one of many that Hezbollah and Iran have planned and carried out, including attacks in Thailand, Kenya, Turkey, India, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Georgia. The result of the Bulgarian investigation comes at a time when Israel has been petitioning the European Union to join the United States in designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. killing 2 and wounding 7 Israeli soldiers and officers, as confirmed by Israeli military.
2023–present Israel–Hezbollah conflict On 8 October 2023, Hezbollah launched guided rockets and artillery shells at
Israeli-occupied positions in
Shebaa Farms during the
Gaza war. Israel retaliated with
drone strikes and artillery fire on Hezbollah positions near the
Golan Heights–Lebanon border. The attacks came after Hezbollah expressed support and praise for the
Hamas attacks on Israel. The clashes were the largest escalation between the two countries since the
2006 Lebanon War. In November 2024, a
ceasefire deal was signed between Israel and Hezbollah to end 13 months of conflict. According to the agreement, Hezbollah was given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon and Israeli forces were obliged to withdraw from the area over the same period. In December 2024,
the fall of Assad's Baathist regime in Syria was another blow to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, which was already weakened because of Israeli military actions. On 31 March 2025, a significant development took place as the
LAF and
UNIFIL forces entered a major Hezbollah weapons and storage camp in East Zawtar, near the Litani River—one of Hezbollah's largest and most strategic facilities in southern Lebanon. The move followed renewed tensions and Israeli threats to resume military operations, amid accusations of recent rocket fire toward
Kiryat Shmona. Joint forces reportedly searched Hezbollah vehicles and found an empty missile launcher. It remains unclear whether Hezbollah consented to the operation. This action was seen as part of efforts to enforce UN Resolution 1701, which calls for disarming illegal groups south of the Litani and reinforcing the army's presence in the region. On 1 March 2026, for the first time since the joint
Israeli-US strikes against Iran, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones targeting northern and central Israel, as retaliation for the killing of
Khamenei. This led Israel to a series of major airstrikes on Southern Beirut (Dahieh), Beqaa Valley and areas near Tyre, targeting Senior Hezbollah operatives.
Rearming of Hezbollah Since the 2024 Ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah is rearming itself. According to Israeli and Arab intelligence sources, the organisation is using the Beirut seaport and its old smuggling land routes form Syria, for bringing in long range missiles, antitank missiles, artillery and rockets. It is also reported that Hezbollah is manufacturing weapons. The efforts take place mainly in the suburbs of Beirut and the
Beqaa Valley.
Assassination of Rafic Hariri On 14 February 2005, former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafic Hariri was killed, along with 21 others, when his motorcade was struck by a roadside bomb in Beirut. He had been PM during 1992–1998 and 2000–2004. In 2009, the UN special tribunal investigating the murder of Hariri reportedly found evidence linking Hezbollah to the murder. In August 2010, in response to notification that the UN tribunal would indict some Hezbollah members,
Hassan Nasrallah said Israel was looking for a way to assassinate Hariri as early as 1993 in order to create political chaos that would force Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, and to perpetuate an anti-Syrian atmosphere [in Lebanon] in the wake of the assassination. He went on to say that in 1996 Hezbollah apprehended an agent working for Israel by the name of Ahmed Nasrallah—no relation to Hassan Nasrallah—who allegedly contacted Hariri's security detail and told them that he had solid proof that Hezbollah was planning to take his life. Hariri then contacted Hezbollah and advised them of the situation. Saad Hariri responded that the UN should investigate these claims. On 30 June 2011, the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established to investigate the death of Hariri, issued
arrest warrants against four senior members of Hezbollah, including
Mustafa Badreddine. On 3 July,
Hassan Nasrallah rejected the indictment and denounced the tribunal as a plot against the party, vowing that the named persons would not be arrested under any circumstances. On 18 August 2020, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon found
Salim Ayyash, a senior operative in Hezbollah, guilty in absentia of five charges including the intentional murder of Hariri with premeditation by using explosive materials.
Involvement in the Syrian Civil War Hezbollah was a long time ally of the
Syrian Ba'athist regime, led by the
Al-Assad family until its
downfall in 2024. Hezbollah has helped the
Syrian government during the
Syrian civil war in its fight against the
Syrian opposition, which Hezbollah has described as a Zionist plot to destroy its alliance with al-Assad against Israel.
Geneive Abdo opined that Hezbollah's support for al-Assad in the Syrian war has "transformed" it from a group with "support among the Sunni for defeating Israel in a battle in 2006" into a "strictly Shia paramilitary force". Hezbollah also fought against the
Islamic State. In August 2012, the United States sanctioned Hezbollah for its alleged role in the war. General Secretary Nasrallah denied Hezbollah had been fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, stating in a 12 October 2012, speech that "right from the start the Syrian opposition has been telling the media that Hezbullah sent 3,000 fighters to Syria, which we have denied". However, according to the Lebanese
Daily Star newspaper, Nasrallah said in the same speech that Hezbollah fighters helped the Syrian government "retain control of some 23 strategically located villages [in Syria] inhabited by Shiites of Lebanese citizenship". Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters have died in Syria doing their "jihadist duties". In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the
Al-Qusayr District of Syria. On 16–17 February 2013, Syrian opposition groups claimed that Hezbollah, backed by the Syrian military, attacked three neighbouring Sunni villages controlled by the
Free Syrian Army (FSA). An FSA spokesman said, "Hezbollah's invasion is the first of its kind in terms of organisation, planning and coordination with the Syrian regime's air force." Hezbollah said three Lebanese Shiites, "acting in self-defence", were killed in the clashes with the FSA. Lebanese security sources said that the three were Hezbollah members. In response, the FSA allegedly attacked two Hezbollah positions on 21 February; one in Syria and one in Lebanon. Five days later, it said it destroyed a convoy carrying Hezbollah fighters and Syrian officers to Lebanon, killing all the passengers. In January 2013, a weapons convoy carrying
SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah was
destroyed allegedly by the
Israeli Air Force. A nearby research centre for chemical weapons was also damaged. A similar
attack on weapons destined for Hezbollah occurred in May of the same year. The leaders of the
March 14 alliance and other prominent Lebanese figures called on Hezbollah to end its involvement in Syria and said it is putting Lebanon at risk.
Subhi al-Tufayli, Hezbollah's former leader, said, "Hezbollah should not be defending the criminal regime that kills its own people and that has never fired a shot in defence of the Palestinians." He said, "those Hezbollah fighters who are killing children and terrorising people and destroying houses in Syria will go to hell." The Consultative Gathering, a group of Shia and Sunni leaders in
Baalbek-
Hermel, also called on Hezbollah not to "interfere" in Syria. They said, "Opening a front against the Syrian people and dragging Lebanon to war with the Syrian people is very dangerous and will have a negative impact on the relations between the two." Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi condemned Hezbollah by saying, "We stand against Hezbollah in its aggression against the Syrian people. There is no space or place for Hezbollah in Syria." Support for Hezbollah among the Syrian public has weakened since the involvement of Hezbollah and Iran in propping up the
Assad regime during the
civil war. On 12 May 2013, Hezbollah with the Syrian army attempted to
retake part of Al-Qusayr. In Lebanon, there has been "a recent increase in the funerals of Hezbollah fighters" and "Syrian rebels have shelled Hezbollah-controlled areas". He confirmed that Hezbollah was fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Al-Qusayr on the same side as Assad's forces.
Latin America operations Hezbollah operations in South America began in the late 20th century, centred around the Arab population which had moved there following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the 1985 Lebanese Civil War. One particular form of alleged activity is
money laundering. The
Los Angeles Times said that the group was more active in the 1990s, especially during the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing in Argentina, though its relevance grew more unclear as time progressed.
Vox writes that following the adoption of the
Patriot Act in 2001, the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would promote the term of
narcoterrorism and arrest individuals with no prior history of being involved in terrorism, suggesting scepticism towards the reports of large-scale collusion between alleged terrorist groups and cartels. In 2002, Hezbollah was reported to be openly operating in
Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Beginning in 2008, the
DEA began with
Project Cassandra to work against reported Hezbollah activities in regards to Latin American drug trafficking. The investigation by the DEA reported that Hezbollah made about a billion US dollars a year and trafficked thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. Another destination for cocaine trafficking done by Hezbollah are nations within the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2013, Hezbollah was accused of infiltrating South America and having ties with Latin American drug cartels. One area of operations is in the region of the
Triple Frontier, where Hezbollah has been alleged to be involved in the trafficking of cocaine; officials with the Lebanese embassy in Paraguay have worked to counter US allegations and extradition attempts. In 2016, it was alleged that money gained from drug sales was used to purchase weapons in Syria. In 2018,
Infobae reported that Hezbollah was operating in
Colombia under the name Organisation of External Security. That same year, Argentine police arrested individuals alleged to be connected to Hezbollah's criminal activities within the nation. The
Los Angeles Times noted in 2020 that at the time, Hezbollah served as a "bogeyman of sorts" and that "[p]undits and politicians in the U.S., particularly those on the
far right, have long issued periodic warnings that Hezbollah and other Islamic groups pose a serious threat in Latin America".
Nicaragua and
Venezuela aid Hezbollah in its operations in the region. Israeli reports about the presence of Hezbollah in Latin America raised questions amongst Latin American analysts based in the United States
United States operations Ali Kourani, the first Hezbollah operative to be convicted and sentenced in the United States, was under investigation since 2013 and worked to provide targeting and terrorist recruiting information to Hezbollah's
Islamic Jihad Organisation (IJO). The organisation had recruited a former resident of
Minnesota and a military linguist, Mariam Tala Thompson, who disclosed "identities of at least eight clandestine human assets; at least 10 US targets; and multiple tactics, techniques and procedures" before she was discovered and successfully prosecuted in a US court.
Other In 2010,
Ahbash and Hezbollah members were involved in a street battle which was perceived to be over parking issues, both groups later met to form a joint compensation fund for the victims of the conflict. According to
Reuters, in 2024, commanders from Hezbollah and Iran's IRGC were reported to be involved in Yemen, overseeing and directing
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. == Funding ==