History and Operation of Hezbollah

Hezbollah is an Islamic political and paramilitary organization founded in the early eighties on the eve of the 1982 Israeli attack of Lebanon.  The organization emerged to defend Israel’s war to occupy South Lebanon in 1982.

It opened an uneven guerrilla war using suicide attacks against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The organization is credited to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use suicide bombing, assassination and capturing foreign soldiers in the Middle East.

But soon it turned into a perfect paramilitary group having missiles, rocket artillery Katyusha, rocket launchers and detonators of explosion.

After the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group into a political one. This process of transformation is known as ‘the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah’.

In 1992, Hezbollah decided to participate in elections. This objective was acknowledged by Ali Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran. But Former Hezbollah secretary general, Subhi al-Tufayli was against this resolution. Despite the reluctance of Subhi Hezbollah contested in the election and won all the twelve seats which were on its electoral list.

In 1997, in an attempt to restore national and secular resistance against Israel, Hezbollah formed multi-confessional Lebanese Brigades to Fight against the Israeli seizures.

In the twenty-first century ‘The July War’ or ‘the second Lebanon war’ was launched by Hezbollah in 2006. In this occasion, through "Operation True Promise", following an attack of rockets and mortar shells fired at Israeli settlements and military posts near the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah troops entered Israel and attacked the IDF patrol, killing three and capturing two others. They then returned to southern Lebanon with the hostages.

Besides military operations, Hezbollah also organizes an extensive social development program and runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities and undertakes economic and infrastructural development ventures in Lebanon. In its July 25, 2006 issue, CNN has stated that "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do…..”

On the other hand, The United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Israel, Australia and Canada classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. According to the United States Council on Foreign Relations, Hezbollah is responsible for five major terrorist attacks against the U.S. and Israel.

A disputed report also claims that the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) was a war name used by Hezbollah.

Although Hezbollah is based in Lebanon It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria.  The paramilitary wing of this organization is regarded as a resistance movement in most of the Arab countries.

Recently, in relation to the blast in Delhi that targeted Israeli embassy staffs on Monday, Israel has blamed Hezbollah along with its enemy Iran.