Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a radical Shi'ite terrorist group based in Lebanon that has been waging a guerilla campaign against Israel since the 1980s.

The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, Canada, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Hezbollah’s Conflict with Israel

One of Hezbollah's key goals is the elimination of the State of Israel and the group has found itself in regular conflict with Israel since 1982, including during the First Lebanon War and the 2006 Lebanon War.

The First Lebanon War, otherwise known as the South Lebanon conflict, started in 1985 and ended with Israeli withdrawal in 2000. 559 Israeli soldiers were killed and 840 wounded during the conflict and more than 1,200 Hezbollah militants were killed and approximately 1,000 wounded.

The 2006 Lebanon War began on 12 July 2006 when Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack on Israeli troops, killing three and kidnapping two IDF soldiers.

The five-week conflict saw 121 IDF soldiers killed and 1,244 wounded. 44 Israeli civilians were killed during the war as a result of Hezbollah rocket and mortar fire. Israel claims that between 600 and 800 Hezbollah militants were killed during the conflict, in addition to at least 1,000 Lebanese and foreign civilians.

The remains of the two seized Israeli soldiers, whose fates were unknown, were returned to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange in July 2008.

Hezbollah has also planned and carried out major terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and infrastructure outside of Israel.

The organization is responsible, among other things, for the 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina, the 2012 Burgas bus bombing against Israeli citizens, and for the kidnapping of several Israeli soldiers.

Following the October 7 massacre in late 2023, Hezbollah began carrying out numerous attacks against Israel. In response, following months of fighting with Hamas in Gaza, the IDF turned their focus to the North. Following a two-day attack in which the pagers and other communication devices of Hezbollah officials all exploded in what is widely believed to be a carefully orchestrated plot by Israel, the IDF carried out numerous strikes in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of much of its leadership, including Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. Shortly after, the IDF launched a limited ground offensive into southern Lebanon to root out Hezbollah positions.

War by the numbers: How many strikes, targets, and missions has Israel carried out? - explainer

Since the start of the war against Iran, Israel has dropped around 12,000 bombs, including 3,600 within the Tehran region alone.

MARCH 19, 2026|ByYONAH JEREMY BOB

An Israel Air Force fighter jet seen in central Israel amid the ongoing war between Israel-US and Iran, March 18, 2026.

The damaged Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani river, after it was hit by an Israeli strike in Tayr Falsay in southern Lebanon, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026.

WATCH: Kremlin news crew hit by Israeli strike in southern Lebanon after Israel provided warning

The footage shows RT correspondent Steve Sweeney just before the sound of an incoming strike can be heard. Sweeney is seen diving forward as a blast strikes behind him.

MARCH 19, 2026|BySAM HALPERN, AARON GLICK

The power of regional cooperation in crisis: Insights from experts on the ground

In this powerful interview, Dr. Rivka Ravitz, chief of staff of Beit Shemesh, Yoav Bakshi Yeivin, director of Makom network, and Moshiko Erez, founder of NexusCities, discuss regional cooperation.

MARCH 19, 2026|ByJERUSALEM POST PODCASTS

A displaced girl sits in the back of a pick-up truck in Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon on March 15. Lebanon is working to form a delegation to negotiate with Israel in a bid to stop the war with Hezbollah.

PremiumPremium

'It's like a cancer': Lebanese journalists on life under Hezbollah's grip

Many Lebanese say they are paying the price for a conflict they neither chose nor control

MARCH 19, 2026|ByDANA BEN-SHIMON

'No longer a safe place': Lebanon fractures under Hezbollah's war

A war launched in the shadow of Iran is deepening Lebanon’s internal fractures and testing Israel’s strategy

MARCH 19, 2026ByBEN LYNFIELD

A displaced Lebanese woman stands beside her tent along Beirut’s seafront area on March 15. Israel issued evacuation orders covering hundreds of square kilometers of Lebanon, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Premium

Christians in Lebanon navigate fear and neutrality amid ongoing regional conflict

Christian communities are opposing Lebanon’s involvement in the conflict while weighing whether Hezbollah’s weakening could open space for stronger state authority.

MARCH 19, 2026ByGIORGIA VALENTE / THE MEDIA LINE

A memorial service is held at Sayyidet al-Najaat Church for five Christians, including a priest, who were killed in attacks in Rumiyeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on March 15, 2026.

Lebanon’s Bassil urges neutrality as Hezbollah-Israel clashes escalate

Gebran Bassil warns that Hezbollah’s actions and the Israel conflict could split Lebanon, urging neutrality and caution to protect the country from regional wars and internal strife.

MARCH 19, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Lebanese Maronite lawmaker Gebran Bassil, addresses a press conference after consultations to name a Lebanese prime minister, on January 13, 2025, in Baadba.

Fanning flames of war, Iran appears to activate Gulf terror cells as conflict expands - analysis

Iran may be turning to local groups and terrorist cells to fan the flames of war in the region.

MARCH 19, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Smoke rises from a high-rise building following a drone attack in Kuwait City on March 8, 2026.

IDF kills over 20 Hezbollah terrorists, confiscates weapons in 24 hours of ops. in southern Lebanon

The IDF also issued an urgent evacuation order to residents of Lebanon living south of the Zahrani River on Thursday, amid Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah terrorists operating in the area.

MARCH 19, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM

Weapons confiscated by the IDF during operations in southern Lebanon, March 19, 2026.

WATCH: Bazan oil refinery damaged after Iran launches series of missile barrages across Israel

A foreign worker in Israel's Sharon region was killed on Wednesday night, shortly after three Palestinian women were killed when Iranian cluster munitions hit a hair salon in the West Bank.

MARCH 19, 2026ByMAYA ZANGER-NADIS

AN OIL REFINERY in Haifa, damaged in an Iranian missile barrage, March 19, 2026.

Netanyahu could call early elections as wartime success influences political strategy - interview

The timing of the elections will “heavily depend” on the results of the war and can cause the date to be moved up, said Prof. Gideon Rahat, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.

MARCH 18, 2026ByKESHET NEEV

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the nation amid Israeli strike on Iranian regime targets on March 7, 2026.

IDF eliminates Imam Hussein Division Commander within a week of eliminating his predecessor

Hassan Ali Marwan was previously responsible for the division’s operations, commanding the launch of missiles, UAVs, and rockets toward the State of Israel and IDF troops in southern Lebanon.

MARCH 18, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF