On the evening of January 26 in Lebanon, there were several protests and demonstrations by Hezbollah activists. One of the videos showed men on motorcycles with Hezbollah flags.
It was difficult to confirm the place and time of the videos, but overall the sense is that Hezbollah is trying to make itself known in Lebanon after several months of quiet. Hezbollah was laying low during the first 60 days of the ceasefire with Israel.
The goal of Hezbollah was to keep quiet and make it seem that the ceasefire deal was achieving something. The Lebanese Army is supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah’s threats are supposed to be reduced.
However, like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah is not defeated and it is re-emerging from its hideouts. On January 26, Lebanese civilians were killed in clashes with the IDF in several places in southern Lebanon, according to reports in Lebanese media.
This appeared to be the spark to get Hezbollah to return to the streets to show off how it claims to support the Lebanese people. It is exploiting the situation because Israel did not abide by the terms of the 60-day agreement and Israel is asking for more weeks before withdrawing.
Iranian state media is emphasizing the importance of Hezbollah now. “Lebanon’s Hezbollah Resistance Movement has hailed the return of Lebanese residents to their homes in the south, saying that the nation once again showed that it would never give in to the enemy’s threats,” a report at Iran’s IRNA said on January 27.
“In a statement issued early on Monday, Hezbollah praised the resilience of the Lebanese people who stood up against all threats and aggression, highlighting their deep connection to their land and their steadfast role as guardians of national sovereignty, Lebanon’s Al-Manar news network reported.” Al-Manar is Hezbollah’s media arm.
Tensions in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah’s return to the spotlight is linked to the tensions in southern Lebanon. IRNA noted that “the resistance movement issued the statement after groups of residents in southern Lebanon defied an Israeli order and returned to their villages on Sunday that marked the last day of a 60-day period during which Israel was obliged to withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of its ceasefire agreement with Beirut.”
Nevertheless, Hezbollah does not appear to be looking for a fight. It wants to use Lebanese civilians against the IDF. It wants suffering and then it can exploit it. Iranian media notes that “the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon initially took effect on November 27, 2024. The deal has now been extended until mid-February.”
This means that Iran also wants the ceasefire to continue. Clearly it is in Iran’s interest not to provoke a larger war again, it has enough problems at home. Iran also has trouble re-supplying Hezbollah. On January 26, the new Syrian government said they intercepted a smuggling attempt to Hezbollah.