Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

, a

Shia Islamist Shia Islamism is the implementation of Shia Islam in politics. Most study and reporting on Islamism has been focused on Sunni Islamist movements. Shia Islamism, a previously very small ideology, gained in popularity after the Iranian Revolution ...

political party and militant organization that was established in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 1985, has been involved in a long-running conflict with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

as part of the

Iran–Israel proxy conflict The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, also known as the Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War, is an ongoing Proxy war, proxy conflict between Iran and Israel. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia milit ...

and the

Israeli–Lebanese conflict The Israeli–Lebanese conflict, or the South Lebanon conflict,G. Rongxing. ''Territorial Disputes and Conflict Management: The Art of Avoiding War''. p71. is a long-running conflict involving Israel, Lebanon-based paramilitary groups, and som ...

History

The two sides' first engagement occurred during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, as

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

became increasingly involved in Lebanon's internal affairs. With funding from the Iranian government and training and supervision from Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

, Hezbollah was built up in Syrian-occupied Lebanon by various religious clerics amidst the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

, primarily as a

Khomeinist Khomeinism, also transliterated Khumaynism, refers to the religious and political ideas and practices connected with the leader of the 1979 Iranian Islamic RevolutionRuhollah Khomeini. While primarily referring to the ideas and practices of Kho ...

force opposed to the

Free Lebanon State The State of Free Lebanon (, ) was an unrecognized separatist country in Lebanon. On 18 April 1979, Lebanese military officer Saad Haddad proclaimed the independence of a "Free Lebanon" out of the southernmost territory of Lebanon, amidst the ho ...

and the

Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon lasted for eighteen years, from 1982 until 2000. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks from southern Lebanon by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied the ...

. Hezbollah controls southern Lebanon and is supported and funded by Iran and serves as their proxy in regional wars. From the inception of Hezbollah to the present the establishment of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to what became Israel has been a primary goal for Hezbollah. Hezbollah not only opposes the government and policies of the State of Israel, but also each and every Jewish civilian who lives in Israel.Sheikh Hassan Izz al-Din, Hezbollah media relations director, said, " e Jews need to leave." Avi Jovisch, ''Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballah's Al-Manar Television'' (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2004), pp. 62–90. qtd. by Wistrich, ''A Lethal Obsession'', p. 774 Its 1985 manifesto reportedly states "our struggle will end only when this entity sraelis obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no ceasefire, and no peace agreements."An open letter, The Hizballah program
.

Timeline

Engagements between Israel and Hezbollah are a part of the wider

, including: *

South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) The South Lebanon conflict was an armed conflict that took place in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 or 1985 until Israel's withdrawal in 2000. Hezbollah, along with other Shia Muslim and left-wing guerrillas, fought against Isr ...

, in which Hezbollah was the primary force opposing Israel and the South Lebanon Army *

2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict The 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict was a low-level border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah for control of Shebaa Farms, a disputed territory located on the Golan Heights–Lebanon border. Fighting between the two sides primarily c ...

, a low-level border conflict between Hezbollah and Israel *

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

, a military conflict between Hezbollah and Israel * January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident and

January 2015 Shebaa Farms incident As a response to an Israeli attack against a military convoy comprising Hezbollah and Iranian officers on January 18, 2015, at Quneitra in southern Syria, the Lebanese Hezbollah group launched an ambush on January 28 against an Israeli military ...

between Hezbollah and Israel *

Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war Several incidents have taken place on the Purple Line (ceasefire line), Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line during the Syrian Civil War, straining the Israel–Syria relations, relations between the countries. The incidents are considered a spillov ...

Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war The Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war refers to the Iranian–Israeli standoff in and around Syria during the Syrian conflict. With increasing Iranian involvement in Syria from 2011 onwards, the conflict shifted from a prox ...

Operation Northern Shield Operation Northern Shield () was an Israeli military operation that took place from 4 December 2018 until 13 January 2019. The operation's declared goal was to locate and destroy Hezbollah tunnels that cross the Blue Line from Lebanon into nort ...

2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings On 6 April 2023, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding 3 Israeli civilians. The Israel government alleged that the rockets were fired by Palestinian factions Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with Hezbollah's appro ...

Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) An ongoing conflict between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October 2023, when List of projectile attacks from Lebanon on Israel and the Golan Heights, Hezbollah launched rockets and artillery at Israeli positions ...

2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon On 1 October 2024, Israel invaded Southern Lebanon, marking the sixth Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 1978. The invasion took place after nearly 12 months of Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present), conflict ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hezbollah-Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Iran–Israel proxy conflict Wars involving Hezbollah Wars involving Israel

History

Timeline

See also

References