The Lebanese-based Shia Muslim group Hezbollah is actively engaged both militarily and politically in its conflict with Israel. After the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2024, the new secretary-general Naim Qasim assumed leadership. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel in 2023, Hezbollah also began launching attacks on Israel using rockets and drones. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is often regarded as a ‘state within a state.’ Its formation is traced back to the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990, during which it consistently rejected the existence of Israel.
Iran is believed to have provided Hezbollah with military technology and equipment, making the group Iran’s most influential proxy force. The United States and many other countries have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Since Hamas’s attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah’s name has frequently surfaced in reports concerning the ongoing tensions in West Asia. When Hezbollah launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded with increased aggression, carrying out incursions into Lebanese territory.
In 2024, the IDF assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, and subsequently initiated ground military operations in southern Lebanon. Later that year, a ceasefire agreement was brokered after Hezbollah broke the truce following attacks by the US and Israel on Iran. On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In retaliation, Hezbollah renewed its attacks against Israel and reasserted its political activism.
