Hezbollah Fights a War of Attrition on Israel’s Terms

Jerusalem, 27 December, 2023 (TPS) -- Israeli air strikes in Lebanon are exacting a heavy price from Hezbollah for its rocket fire, forcing the terror group into a war of attrition being fought on Israel’s terms.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets at northern Israel on a daily basis since October 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis in communities near the Gaza border. Concerned about larger barrages and border infiltrations, around 250,000 Israelis have been evacuated from communities near Lebanon and Gaza.

Israel’s strikes have destroyed a significant amount of Hezbollah infrastructure in open areas, forcing the terror group to operate in uncomfortable proximity to civilian villages.

“Hezbollah’s front line of outposts was hit very hard by the IDF and, among other things, the forces hit terrorist infrastructure, command and control facilities, lookouts and warehouses where weapons were stored,” a source in the Israel Defense Forces told the Tazpit Press Service.

The fact that Israel is striking Hezbollah targets in towns and villages hasn’t escaped the attention of the Lebanese evacuees. A Shi’ite souce in Lebanon told TPS that Israel has targeted Hezbollah facilities located in or very close to 91 different villages across Southern Lebanon.

Moreover, 23 civilians have been killed in those strikes, and residents blame Hezbollah for putting them in harm’s way.

“Recently, Nasrallah has also been hearing criticism from the Shiite communities who ask him whether you have pledged to be the defender of Lebanon or have you become the defender of Hamas and ISIS,” the IDF source told TPS.

Hezbollah — to Hamas’s anger — has not opened a new front, and cannot even follow through on an oft-threatened “eye for an eye” deterrence.

“The ratio of casualties between the IDF forces and Hezbollah is 1-13,” an Israeli political source told TPS.

This source added that the assessment is that Hezbollah will continue its war of attrition despite its inability to match Israel blow for blow.

However, Hezbollah still poses a considerable threat to Israel. Hezbollah recently moved additional forces into southern Lebanon from Syria, including 1,500 members of its elite Radwan Unit. This unit’s main mission is to rapidly infiltrate northern Israel, seize control of communities and take hostages, similar to Hamas’s attacks on October 7.

The Radwan Unit gained considerable experience fighting in the Syrian Civil War is considered more advanced and more disciplined than Hamas.

However, monitoring and analysis of Hezbollah’s internal discourse indicates that the October 7 attack took away Radwan Unit’s element of surprise.

As a result, Hezbollah’s backers tout the achievement of forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate their northern communities.