Hezbollah Suffers Heavy Losses in Border Clashes with Israel
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group, has lost nearly 50 fighters in the past three weeks during clashes with Israel along the border, according to three sources familiar with the situation. These sources revealed that most of the fatalities were caused by Israeli drone strikes, prompting Hezbollah to unveil its surface-to-air missile capability as a countermeasure to the drones. The group has declared that it successfully downed an Israeli drone on Sunday.
The loss of 47 fighters represents about a fifth of the number that Hezbollah lost during the full-scale war with Israel in 2006. Israeli military officials have refrained from commenting on the recent drone incident but did confirm that they had stopped a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones, retaliating by striking the launch site.
Hezbollah has taken multiple steps to reduce its losses and counter Israeli drones, including the use of anti-aircraft missiles, according to one of the sources. The group is seeking to contain the clashes to the border zone while indicating its readiness for all-out war if necessary. In contrast, Israel has emphasized its lack of interest in escalating the conflict at its northern frontier with Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed hope to “keep the quiet on this front” and credited Israel’s strong defense forces and actions in Gaza for deterring Hezbollah thus far.
Hezbollah has long claimed to have expanded its arsenal since 2006, warning that its forces pose a more potent threat than before. The group insists that its weaponry includes drones and rockets capable of hitting all parts of Israel. While Hezbollah has refrained from firing rockets into Israeli territory during the recent clashes, it has deployed fighters who have been targeting visible Israeli military targets across the border using guided anti-tank Kornet missiles.
Although Hezbollah’s tactics have contained the conflict thus far, its fighters remain vulnerable due to their close proximity to the frontier. Additionally, the group’s fighters have underestimated the threat posed by Israeli drones, which possess technical superiority. The death toll among Hezbollah fighters has been significant as a result.
The clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have largely remained confined to a narrow band of land along the border, within a range of three to four kilometers. However, security sources in Lebanon have reported an expansion of Israeli shelling in recent days, including a strike on Jabal Safi, a mountainous area about 25 kilometers from the border. Israeli authorities have not commented on this specific strike, stating that their response has been to sources of fire in Lebanon.
During the 2006 war, Hezbollah lost 263 fighters as Israel targeted sites across Lebanon in a more than month-long conflict. The recent death toll of 47 fighters has shocked Hezbollah supporters. Funerals of fallen fighters have been broadcast daily on the group’s al-Manar television, with coffins draped in Hezbollah’s yellow and green flag. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, released a handwritten letter last week referring to the fallen fighters as “martyrs on the road to Jerusalem.”