How Hezbollah Infiltrates Villages in Southern Lebanon
Against the backdrop of ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah continues its rearmament and efforts to establish itself in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Army, intended to be a balancing factor, faces significant difficulties in enforcing order and disarming the organization.
Against the backdrop of ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon, despite potential understandings with the Lebanese government, Hezbollah on the ground is not stopping for a moment. The terrorist organization continues its rearmament efforts and consistent attempts to return and establish itself in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Army, which is supposed to act as a balancing factor, faces numerous difficulties in enforcing order against the organization, both in preventing its return to the south and in its limited capacity to disarm it.
The reality on the ground is complex: Hezbollah still controls significant parts of the Lebanese Army and booby-traps traffic routes, with the Lebanese Army already reporting two major incidents involving the group. Furthermore, Lebanese Army officers and soldiers are reluctant to search the organization's buildings due to the high risk that they have been booby-trapped in advance. This situation leaves Hezbollah's operational space largely unchecked.
Documentation provided by the Alma Center for the Research of the Northern Arena illustrates how Hezbollah has resumed operations using a long-standing civilian mechanism—the 'Islamic Health Organization.' This humanitarian cover allows the group to operate under the radar. These findings confirm that Hezbollah continues to receive weaponry directly from Iran through various crossings.
One of the most strategic routes is the Al-Tanf crossing on the Iraq-Syria border. This route, regularly used for fuel transport, is exploited by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons under the cover of fuel trucks. The armaments are offloaded in smuggling zones along the border and then moved into Lebanese territory.
It is important to emphasize that this is the shortest and fastest route from Iran to Lebanon. It became critical for the organization following the withdrawal of American forces from the region and has remained open. Through this axis, drones, fiber optic infrastructure, and RPG warheads are regularly transferred to bolster Hezbollah's military capabilities against Israel.
In conclusion, intelligence and operational data indicate that efforts to prevent Hezbollah's return to southern Lebanon are failing, and smuggling continues at full force. Despite political discussions, the reality on the ground confirms that the mission in Lebanon is not yet complete.
