Hezbollah is an influential Shia Muslim political party and armed group. It has a significant presence in both the Lebanese parliament and government, and controls the most powerful armed force in the country.

Hezbollah rose to prominence in the 1980s in opposition to Israel, whose forces had occupied southern Lebanon during the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.

It has received strong backing from Iran, both financially and militarily, for many years. It is also a strong ally of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah’s armed wing has carried out deadly attacks on Israeli and US forces in Lebanon.

When Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah took credit for pushing them out and continues to oppose Israel’s presence in disputed border areas. In 2006, a full-blown war broke out between Hezbollah and Israel, triggered by a deadly cross-border raid by Hezbollah.

Israeli troops invaded southern Lebanon to try to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah. About 1,000 civilians were killed during the conflict but Hezbollah claimed victory and has since increased its number of fighters and upgraded its weapons.

The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Western states, Israel and Gulf Arab states.

How much political support does Hezbollah have?

Hezbollah has participated in Lebanon’s national elections since 1992 and has become a major political power. The group and its allies lost their majority in parliament in the 2022 election, but a new government has not been formed since then and it continues to have ministers in the caretaker administration.

Lebanon is deeply divided over Hezbollah. While the group enjoys substantial popular support, many opponents accuse it of involvement in political corruption and oppose its military capabilities, viewing them as a significant factor in the country’s ongoing conflicts.

As a powerful political entity, Hezbollah also operates schools, hospitals, cultural institutions and charities across Lebanon.

How strong are Hezbollah’s forces?

Hezbollah has thousands of fighters and a huge missile arsenal in southern Lebanon. It is one of the most heavily-armed, non-state military forces in the world. It is funded and equipped by Iran.

The organisation has claimed it has 100,000 fighters, although independent estimates put the number between 20,000 and 50,000.

Many are well-trained and battle-hardened, and have fought in the Syrian civil war. Hezbollah has an estimated 120,000-200,000 rockets and missiles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

Most of its arsenal is made up of small, unguided, surface-to-surface artillery rockets.

But it also thought to have anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as guided missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel. It has much more sophisticated weapons at its disposal than Hamas does in Gaza.

Who is Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah?

Hassan Nasrallah is a Shia cleric who has led Hezbollah since 1992. He played a key role in turning it into a political, as a well as a military, force.

He has close links with Iran and its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Nasrallah has not appeared in public for years, reportedly for fear of being assassinated by Israel.

However, he remains revered by Hezbollah, and delivers televised speeches every week.

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