Hezbollah Attacks Israel: This is the Weapon Supplier to Lebanon

Lebanese Hezbollah militants launched another attack on Israel on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

"Hezbollah Lebanon said on Thursday that it launched several attacks on Israeli army positions using explosive drones, and Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon, marking a sharp escalation of violence," Reuters reported on Friday, November 3, 2023.

According to Israeli media, Hezbollah has been launching attacks since the beginning of the Israel-Palestinian Hamas war in early October 2023.

"Iran-backed Hezbollah has fired dozens of anti-tank missiles, rockets, and mortars at Israeli military sites and towns since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7. They also sent armed men to infiltrate northern Israel," reported The Times of Israel on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

So, who is Hezbollah?

According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)'s report, "What is Hezbollah?", Hezbollah is an armed group that began to grow after the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975.

The group then participated in resisting the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, and developed into a political party that successfully entered the Lebanese government structure.

"They (Hezbollah) enshrined their ideology in a 1985 manifesto that pledged to expel Western countries from Lebanon, called for the destruction of the state of Israel, and pledged allegiance to Iran's supreme leader," said the CFR report.

"In 1992, Hezbollah participated in national elections for the first time, and they won eight seats in the Lebanese parliament," it continued.

After that, Hezbollah continued to expand its power. Even according to Lina Khatib, a professor of politics and Middle Eastern studies, they have the power to overthrow the Lebanese government.

"Theoretically, Hezbollah has the military power to seize power in Lebanon through violence, but they have no interest in doing so," said Lina Khatib in the report "How Hezbollah holds sway over the Lebanese state" released by Chatham House.

"Hezbollah's political influence within the Lebanese government allows them to push for certain military policies—particularly on the southern outskirts of Beirut, in southern Lebanon, and in the Beqaa region—that are used to facilitate Hezbollah's military activities," she continued.

According to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), during the period 2010-2022, the only country recorded as supplying weapons to Hezbollah was Syria.

SIPRI found that in 2010 there was one arms delivery contract from Syria to Hezbollah, consisting of Fateh-110 ballistic missiles.

Furthermore, there were no other specific arms contracts for Hezbollah that are publicly accessible.

SIPRI also found 50 other arms delivery contracts to Lebanon during the period 2010-2022.

The countries of origin varied, ranging from the United States (US), France, Italy, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brazil, Belgium, and Canada.

The largest number of delivery contracts originated from the US, as shown in the graph.

According to these contracts, during the period 2010-2022, various types of US-origin war equipment entered Lebanon, ranging from mortars, cannons, anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, to helicopters. However, the recipients of these weapons were not recorded in detail.

SIPRI collected this data from various publicly accessible sources, ranging from media reports, annual reports of arms companies, arms export-import reports, to national policy documents.