Hezbollah Rebuilding Military Arsenal Near Israel’s Border, Raising Fears of New Conflict

The Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah is actively rebuilding its military arsenal along Israel’s northern border, raising concerns among security experts that another war between the two adversaries could be imminent. This development comes just one year after the United States helped broker a ceasefire between the parties.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Nadav Shoshani accused Hezbollah on Wednesday of “a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” The IDF released video footage showing what they claim is evidence of the group “operating to reestablish its assets in the village of Beit Lif.”

Critics point to failures by the United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, which they say is not fulfilling its mandate to disarm Hezbollah. The Lebanese Armed Forces are also accused of moving too slowly to prevent the terrorist group from rearming, prompting Israel to conduct near-daily strikes against Hezbollah’s infrastructure and operatives inside Lebanon.

Sarit Zehavi, a leading Israeli security expert on Hezbollah from the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, told Fox News Digital that while Hezbollah is rebuilding, it currently lacks the capability to execute an attack on the scale of Hamas’s October 7 invasion.

“They had it prior to Oct. 7, 2023. They can send in a few terrorists. I want to believe it will take a few years to get those capabilities back,” Zehavi said.

The current situation stems from escalating tensions that began when Hezbollah launched missile attacks against Israel a day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault, which killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel.

“Both the IDF and Hezbollah are very active. The IDF is very active to stop the rehabilitation of Hezbollah and Hezbollah is very active in rebuilding,” Zehavi explained. “Hezbollah learned lessons. It has been more problematic to smuggle weapons to Lebanon from Syria. It is happening. But the Syrians intercepted weapons.”

Notably, the Syrian regime has shown willingness to intercept weapons shipments to Hezbollah, forcing the group to increasingly rely on manufacturing its own rockets. Zehavi, who resides in northern Israel, observed that “almost half of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah are south of the Litani river,” adding that Hezbollah is investing heavily in drones, short-range rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles.

The international reach of Hezbollah’s operations was highlighted this week when German prosecutors began a trial against an alleged Hezbollah operative accused of running “an extensive drone program.” According to German authorities, the suspect, identified as Fadel Z, joined Hezbollah more than a decade ago and worked as a “foreign operator” for the group’s drone program in Spain and Germany in 2022.

Despite significant setbacks, including the devastating Mossad pager attack that killed numerous commanders in September, Hezbollah continues to receive support from Iran. “Iran immediately provided oxygen to Hezbollah for treatment to help revive Hezbollah,” Zehavi noted.

The IDF has made substantial progress in degrading Hezbollah’s missile capabilities, with Zehavi estimating they’ve eliminated “80%” of the group’s rockets, including many of its long-range and highly accurate missiles. She estimates Hezbollah maintains approximately 50,000 active fighters and 50,000 reservists, with Israeli operations having killed “a few thousand terrorists.”

Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar specializing in Hezbollah, offered a more concerning assessment. “There is no lack of arms for Hezbollah in Beirut and Lebanon. Lately, we saw many reports that Hezbollah received arms from Syria and Iran is trying to send arms by civilian Iranian airplanes,” he said.

Cohen emphasized the pressure Hezbollah faces from its Shiite supporters in Lebanon who expect retaliation against Israel. “For the Shiite community, Hezbollah is the state,” Cohen said, warning that “the big war will come” because “Hezbollah said it will not disarm its militia.”

A recent report by Thomas Barrack, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey who also serves as envoy to Syria, characterized Lebanon as a “failed state” with a “paralyzed government.” Barrack noted that Hezbollah maintains 40,000 fighters and between 15,000 and 20,000 rockets and missiles, with the organization paying its militia $2,200 monthly compared to the $275 earned by Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers, who also operate with inferior equipment.

As Israel continues gathering intelligence and conducting operations against Hezbollah leadership, the fragile ceasefire along the Israel-Lebanon border appears increasingly tenuous, with regional observers concerned that conditions are ripening for a larger conflict.