Hezbollah has once again threatened to take up the fight against Israel amid the conflict between Iran and Israel.
The Lebanese people have been warily observing the conflict between the arch foes, worried that Hezbollah may yet again drag them into another war with Israel, this time to defend its main backer Iran.
Hezbollah had launched a “support war” against Israel and in solidarity with Hamas in wake of the Palestinian movement’s October 7, 2023 attack. Israel subsequently launched an all-out war against Hezbollah in 2024, decimating its weapons arsenal and eliminating its top command.
Since a ceasefire took hold in November, efforts have been underway to disarm Hezbollah.
On Monday, deputy Chairman of Hezbollah's Political Council Mahmoud Qamati declared that the party was “prepared to fight the Israeli enemy should it despair in the Lebanese state’s ability to fulfill its vows and commitments in confronting the aggression.”
Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat his statement was “a message, but whose direction we don’t know.”
“What matters now is that the party is still committing to the government’s decision to stay out of the conflict. Hezbollah had also declared that it will not launch a new support war,” they noted.
Qamati added: “The resistance (Hezbollah) will not abandon its national duty if the state proves itself incapable or unwilling to deter the ongoing Israeli attacks. Hezbollah still believes the confrontation with Israel to be a national and sovereign issue.”
His statements contradict those made by Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah, as well as sources from the party.
Last week, Fadlallah said: “Iran has proven throughout history that it can defend itself when attacked. It is not asking anyone to defend it. It is waging the fight itself, and it knows how to protect its people and how to wage a confrontation.”
“There are no such things as Iran’s proxies, rather there are resistance movements,” he charged.
Dr. Kassem Kassir, a political analyst close to Hezbollah, said Qamati was talking about Israel’s occupation of Lebanese territories and means to confront it, not supporting Iran.
“His remarks are in preparation for any scenario that may emerge,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Imad Salamey, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Lebanese American University, dismissed Hezbollah’s comments about taking up the fight as “nothing more than a desperate attempt to make itself seem relevant, when in reality it is on the brink of total collapse.”
“Hezbollah has lost the overwhelming majority of its military capabilities: its weapons arsenal has been destroyed by Israeli strikes, its supply routes from Israel are no more and its field commanders have been systematically assassinated,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“As for Iranian support, in all likelihood its must have dropped dramatically as a result of internal and external pressure on Tehran, including the Israeli attacks, leaving Hezbollah in unprecedented isolation,” he stressed.
“The fact is that Hezbollah can no longer pose a real threat to Israel. With its popular support waning, the party is likely resorting to internal threats, specifically within its Shiite fold, to suppress any attempt at defection or mutiny,” he explained.
“The threats we have been hearing are nothing more than a form of propaganda aimed at hiding Hezbollah’s reality and reshaping its image that cannot be backed up with any tangible support,” Salamey said.
Head of Lebanese Forces Media and Communications Department Charles Jabbour echoed these comments, saying Qamati’s remarks are nothing more than “words aimed at compensating for Hezbollah’s inability to wage a support war for Iran.”
“Those who supported Hamas were better off supporting the side that established it and supplied it with funds and weapons,” he said, referring to Hezbollah’s main backer Iran.
“All of these threats are aimed at Hezbollah’s supporters to give them the impression that they are still capable of fighting. The reality is that they can no longer do anything but hand over their weapons,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Meanwhile, the Kataeb party praised the Lebanese state’s firm stance in keeping Lebanon neutral from the regional conflict.
The developments demand that Hezbollah take a “clear and immediate decision to meet calls to lay down its weapons and hand them over to the army and disengage itself completely from any foreign powers,” it said.
“It must return to the fold of the state that remains the only protector of all Lebanese people,” it added.
