Hezbollah Is ‘Stronger Than Ever’

 

Along the vast mountain range that marks the Lebanon-Syria border, Hezbollah fighters point out recently captured al-Nusra Front training sites and military positions, and describe how they’ve been able to clear the area of the jihadis. They pick their way over the remnants of the al Qaeda affiliate’s makeshift camp, where clothes, tins of foods, and shell casings are strewn across the ground.

Iran Comes to the Israeli Border

In Jordan, Syria’s war is everywhere. Over 600,000 refugees have fled to the country: Cities like Irbid and Zarqa teem with new Syrian inhabitants, and Zaatari camp, which houses 85,000 exiled Syrian Sunnis, is home to at least four donkeys named Bashar. Above it all, coalition cargo planes and screaming F-16s slice through the spring sky toward northern Syria and Iraq, daily reminders of Jordan’s role in the coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State.

This Is Not Your Father’s Hezbollah

Around a kitchen table in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a midlevel Hezbollah commander moved empty coffee cups and a plastic water bottle around a cell phone, demonstrating how his men repelled an assault by what he said were Islamic State fighters along Lebanon’s border with Syria.

“They tried to come down through this valley, but we control the hills on either side,” he said, gesturing to the cell phone lying between the coffee cups and moving the water bottle to indicate the territory the militants still hold. “Right now we don’t have orders to attack; we are just defending.”

Μοσάντ: Η «Χεζμπολάχ» - καλύτερος στρατός στην περιοχή

Η «Χεζμπολάχ» παρ’ όλες τις πιέσεις που αντιμετωπίζει στις επιχειρήσεις της και παρά τα δύο χρόνια πολέμου και τις απώλειες της στη Συρία, θεωρείται η καλύτερη στρατιωτική δύναμη στην περιοχή, πολύ καλύτερη από το συριακό στρατό.

Why Hezbollah Loves the U.S.-Iran Nuke Deal

BEIRUT -- American allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia haven't been shy about criticizing the proposed deal over Iran's nuclear program. But one surprising party has come out in favor of a diplomatic solution: America's foe, the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah. 

Report: Israeli warplanes bomb missiles bound for Hezbollah

Kuwaiti newspaper quotes Israeli security official as saying that the IAF targeted a missile shipment along Syrian-Lebanese border • IDF declines to comment • Report follows Lebanese reports suggesting Israeli activity in its airspace.

An IAF jet takes flight [Illustrative]  |  Photo credit: Dudu Grunshpan

The Israel Air Force once again prevented a shipment of advanced missiles to Hezbollah along the Syrian-Lebanese border, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Wednesday.

EU to decide on blacklisting Hezbollah today

The European Union was set to vote Monday on whether to declare the military wing of Lebanese political party Hezbollah a terrorist organization, which could have far-reaching implications for European-Lebanese relations.

Hezbollah flag flies in Lebanon (photo credit: CC Upyernoz/Wikipedia)

A council of EU foreign ministers are to reach a decision at their monthly meeting Monday morning. Putting an organization on the terrorist blacklist needs a unanimous vote from among the 28 member nations.

IDF derides Hezbollah report of Israeli bombs found in Qusair battle zone

Hezbollah television channel al-Manar on Friday claimed Israeli ammunition was found in the Syrian battle zone border town of Qusair, but the IDF was quick to explain that the “bombs” are non-lethal and date back to before Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in the year 2000.

Al-Manar also claimed that Uzi guns, missiles, gas masks, and communication devices were found in the town, which was seized on Wednesday from rebel groups by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The report seemed designed to underline Assad and Hezbollah claims that Israel is directly aiding rebel forces, something Israel firmly denies.

Το παιχνίδι της Χεζμπολάχ στη Συρία

Ο Σαγιέντ Χασάν Νασράλα, ο ηγέτης της Χεζμπολάχ, φαίνεται να διέβη τον Ρουβίκωνα, την περασμένη εβδομάδα. Σε μια προκλητική ομιλία του στις 25 Μαΐου, τόνισε την απεριόριστη υποστήριξη της λιβανέζικης σιιτικής μαχητικής οργάνωσης στο καθεστώς του Άσαντ στη Συρία. Με αυτό τον τρόπο, ήρε το πέπλο της μυστικότητας που είχε καλύψει την ολοένα και βαθύτερη εμπλοκή της Χεζμπολάχ στη Συρία. Φυσικά, η υποστήριξη της Χεζμπολάχ στη Συρία δεν είχε τεθεί ποτέ υπό αμφισβήτηση. Ωστόσο, η οργάνωση είχε εργαστεί επιμελώς για να καλύψει τα ίχνη της, ακόμα και όταν ο αριθμός των κηδειών για εκείνους που «μαρτύρησαν» στη Συρία αυξανόταν.

Υποστηρικτές της Χεζμπολάχ, κυματίζουν σημαίες και μια φωτογραφία που απεικονίζει τον ηγέτη της Χασάν Νασράλα μαζί με τον πρώην πρόεδρο της Συρίας, Χαφέζ αλ – Άσαντ και τον νυν πρόεδρο Μπασάρ αλ – Άσαντ. (Ali Hashisho / Reuters)

Πέρα από τη δημόσια επιβεβαίωση όσων ήδη υπέθεταν όλοι, η ομιλία, η οποία ήταν σαφώς σεχταριστική, σηματοδοτεί μια κρίσιμη καμπή για την Χεζμπολάχ. Θα μπορούσε να σηματοδοτήσει τη μετατροπή της οργάνωσης από κίνημα αντίστασης σε σεχταριστική πολιτοφυλακή. Ο Νασράλα άσκησε μια πρωτοφανή και καυστική κριτική στους σκληροπυρηνικούς σουνίτες της Συρίας. Ο ίδιος προανήγγειλε μια «νέα φάση» στον αγώνα του Λιβάνου απέναντι στις εξωτερικές απειλές, προσθέτοντας στον κατάλογο των εχθρών που περιλαμβάνει ήδη το Ισραήλ και τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, μια Συρία ελεγχόμενη από τζιχαντιστές.

Ρουκέτες από τη Συρία έπληξαν το Μπααλμπέκ

Τουλάχιστον πέντε ρουκέτες που ερρίφθησαν από την Συρία έπεσαν χθες στο Μπααλμπέκ, στον ανατολικό Λίβανο, το οποίο είναι προπύργιο της Χεζμπολάχ, δήλωσε στο Γαλλικό Πρακτορείο πηγή της λιβανικής ασφάλειας.

Τρεις ρουκέτες έπεσαν στο κέντρο του Μπααλμπέκ και άλλες δύο κοντά σε αρχαιολογικό χώρο της πόλης, ο οποίος προσελκύει πολλούς επισκέπτες, διευκρίνισε η πηγή αυτή, η οποία ζήτησε να μην κατονομαστεί.

For Hezbollah, risks in backing Syria’s Assad

Space is running low in the hall in south Beirut where Hezbollah buries its war dead, a testament to the heavy price the Lebanese Shiite militant movement is paying as it pins its fate ever closer to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a high-stakes game that it cannot afford to lose.

Graphic: Syrian rebel forces have been battling government troops and their Hezbollah allies in Qusair. See our interactive grid, where we’re keeping track of the conflict in Syria through videos, images and tweets.

Hezbollah militants are being deployed outside Lebanese borders for the first time in what its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, has called a “new phase” for the movement. With this decision, Hezbollah’s focus has pivoted from fighting Israel to fighting fellow Muslims in Syria.

Ανησυχία Μπαν Κι-μουν για τον αυξανόμενο ρόλο της Χεζμπολάχ στη Συρία

Ο γενικός γραμματέας του ΟΗΕ Μπαν Κι-μουν ανησυχεί ιδιαίτερα για τον αυξανόμενο ρόλο της λιβανικής Χεζμπολάχ στον συριακό εμφύλιο και απευθύνει έκκληση για ενίσχυση των προσπαθειών που σκοπό έχουν να αποτρέψουν την επέκταση της κρίσης σε άλλες χώρες, δήλωσε χθες ο εκπρόσωπός του Μάρτιν Νεζίρκι.

Ο Μπαν καλεί όλες τις χώρες και τις οργανώσεις να σταματήσουν να υποστηρίζουν τη βία στη Συρία, τονίζει ο εκπρόσωπός του σε ανακοίνωση που εκδόθηκε λίγες ώρες μετά την εκτόξευση δυο ρουκετών στα νότια προάστεια της Βηρυτού, προπύργιο της Χεζμπολάχ.

Syrian Forces and Hezbollah Fighters Press Assault in Key Town

In another day of fierce fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Qusayr, government forces backed by fighters from the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah continued their offensive on Tuesday against anti-government rebels who have long held the town amid conflicting reports about the progress of the fighting.

Warplanes launched airstrikes Tuesday morning on Qusayr, in the central province of Homs, as clashes raging between rebels and Hezbollah fighters left two rebels dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog group based in Britain with contacts in Syria.

Hezbollah Aids Syrian Military in a Key Battle

Syrian government forces backed by Lebanese fighters from the militant group Hezbollah pushed Sunday into parts of Qusayr, a strategic city long held by rebels, according to an antigovernment activist and pro-government news channels. If the advance holds, it would be a serious setback for opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.

Both sides called it one of the war’s most intense ground battles. The fight seemed likely to inflame regional tensions as Hezbollah plunges more deeply into the conflict in Syria, increasing fears of a regional conflagration.

Στο πλευρό του Άσαντ η Χεζμπολάχ

Ο επικεφαλής της λιβανέζικης σιιτικής οργάνωσης Χεζμπολάχ, Χασάν Νασράλα, υποστήριξε σήμερα πως «οι πραγματικοί φίλοι της Συρίας» δεν θα επιτρέψουν την πτώση της κυβέρνησης του Μπασάρ αλ Άσαντ, η οποία κλυδωνίζεται από την λαϊκή εξέγερση στο εσωτερικό της χώρας.

Hezbollah’s role in Syrian civil war drives sectarian tension in Lebanon

Lebanese groups on opposite ends of the nation’s polarized political spectrum are starting to play a more public role in the Syrian civil war, rendering Lebanon’s stated policy of neutrality toward the two-year conflict increasingly obsolete and threatening the tenuous stability of this Arab country.

Bilal Hussein/AP - Masked men in camouflage toting Kalashnikov rifles fan out through a dusty olive orchard, part of a group of Hezbollah-backed fighters from Lebanon who are patrolling both sides of a porous border stretch with Syria on April 12, 2013.

Although the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah has acknowledged little about its role in the fighting next door, Syrian rebels and an analyst close to the Shiite organization, a longtime ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, say it has amplified its operations inside Syria in recent weeks, adding muscle and firepower to an ongoing Syrian military offensive to retake a strategically important border zone from the rebels.

Elaborate surveillance operation raises concerns about broader Hezbollah attacks

The Israeli tourists on Arkia Airlines Flight 161 from Tel Aviv could not have known it, but their arrival in Cyprus July 6 was watched closely. A pair of trained eyes counted each passenger as the group exited the plane and boarded a shuttle, headed for resorts that had also been carefully studied and mapped.

AFP/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - A truck carries the bus damaged by the suicide bomb blast which targeted a group of Israeli tourists in Bourgas, Bulgaria, on July 19, 2012.

The bearded foreigner who silently tracked the Israelis had done his work well. He knew where the visitors would sleep, shop and eat. He knew how many security guards patrolled their hotel parking lots and how long it would take police to arrive from the station down the street.

Hizballah on high alert, jockeys for a role in potential Syrian peace accord

Hizballah forces went on alert Thursday, Feb. 21, upon the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum slapped down by Syrian rebels to halt the Lebanese group’s military support for Bashar Assad – in particular, its artillery and mortar backing for Syrian troops from bases in Lebanon.

Israeli drone downed over Lebanon

debkafile’s military sources report that relevant to this chain of events is the Syrian claim that its anti-aircraft missiles downed an Israeli drone Wednesday over the Lebanese village of Deir al-Aachayer in the Rashaya region.

Global powers will keep pouring oil on the fire in Syria - Hezbollah

Ammar Al-Mussawi, the head of Hezbollah's International Relations.

There is no compromise on Syria alone – the entire Middle East is at stake and all the world powers have their interests there, Hezbollah’s Ammar Al-Mussawi told RT.

Report: Hezbollah exercise includes 10,000 operatives

Egyptian paper says Shiite terror group held three-day military-style maneuvers supervised by Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah, Iranian Revolutionary Guards' officials

The Egyptian government-backed newspaper Al-Gomhuria reported Thursday that Hezbollah held an unprecedentedly large military-style exercise this week, which included over 10,000 of its operatives.

According to the report, the drill was personally supervised by Hezbollah Chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

The maneuvers spanned three days and were also supervised by "top officials" from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the paper reported.