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.
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.
If Israel wants to achieve total victory, it must stop taking demands from terrorists.
Major General Michel Yanko presented plans to expand medical training, increasing IDF's doctors and paramedics after war insights show their presence boosts survival rates and soldier confidence.
The US and the Lebanese governments agreed to extend the deadline after Israel said the Lebanese Army had not been fully deployed in southern Lebanon, meaning the IDF needed to remain in the area.
Israel and US must exert maximum effort to prevent Iran from rebuilding Hamas, or risk erasing IDF's achievements in the war and enabling the Hamas terrorists to carry out another massacre.
The United States also told Israel that the ceasefire deal with Lebanon would not be extended a second time.
Despite not having a national budget approved for 2025, a labor crisis, and a ceasefire that could collapse at any moment, Israel still shows signs of optimism.
IDF rules out terrorist infiltration in Yad Mordechai • Hamas claims victory as IDF withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor
After 15 months of war, Israel’s fragile ceasefires hang in the balance. Netanyahu returns from Washington, where Trump stunned the world with a plan to evict Palestinians from Gaza.
This comes as reports of clashes between Hezbollah and the new Syrian transitional government.
“What America and the West must push for is a resolution to dismantle Hezbollah’s armed capabilities," Baram noted.
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