Analysis: Hezbollah rebuilds despite repeated Israeli warnings; Israel is steadily raising its response threshold, including unusually large strike near Tyre; any Hezbollah retaliation or stronger Israeli attack could trigger new round of clashes
Hezbollah is accelerating efforts to rebuild its military and economic infrastructure following the heavy blows it suffered during last year’s conflict with Israel, sparking growing concern among Israeli security officials and international observers.
In recent weeks, Israeli intelligence has detected an uptick in the terror group’s rearmament,
including in southern Lebanon — a move that violates existing agreements between Jerusalem
and Beirut. Despite repeated Israeli warnings, Lebanon’s oversight mechanisms have failed to
act effectively to curb Hezbollah’s buildup.
According to Israeli defense sources, Hezbollah continues to conduct training exercises, transfer
weapons, and rehabilitate its operational and financial systems — sometimes with the knowledge,
and in certain cases the cooperation, of the Lebanese army. Over the past month, the IDF struck
dozens of targets across southern Lebanon, including operational sites, weapons depots and
rocket production facilities. The IDF said it would maintain freedom of action in Lebanon and
continue counterterrorism strikes as required.
On Thursday night, the IDF carried out an intensified wave of strikes in and around the coastal city of Tyre,
hitting targets located deep within civilian areas. Hezbollah is known to place its weapons among homes
in southern Lebanese villages, using residents as human shields. The IDF issued more than five evacuation
notices to Lebanese civilians in the region during the same day.
Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, head of the IDF Northern Command, said Israel would not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its presence near the border.
“We will not allow Hezbollah to establish itself and reorganize on our borders,” Milo said. “We will continue to strike and operate in the security zone and along the front line to protect residents, and we will act against every threat we identify.”
Southern Lebanon, home to a predominantly Shiite population, remains a key support base for Hezbollah, with an overt militant presence that contrasts with Beirut. In the capital, where the group holds strategic assets, it has faced growing public resistance. Israeli officials note that Hezbollah’s current rearmament differs from pre-war years, when advanced weapons flowed freely from Iran through Syria into Lebanon. Syrian President Ahamad al-Sharaa’s regime is now attempting to block such shipments, as are Israel and the Lebanese army through near-daily interdiction efforts.
Yet Hezbollah has adapted, focusing on developing low-cost, easily assembled weapons — such as drones and loitering munitions — manufactured within Beirut itself. These simple systems pose interception challenges for the IDF and reflect lessons Hezbollah learned from the previous Lebanon war.
Israel’s military is also adapting. Following months of smuggling incidents along the Egyptian border, the IDF has been instructed to form a special unit to counter drone-based smuggling operations from Egypt. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the area near the border would be declared a closed military zone, warning that anyone entering the area would face lethal force.
“We are declaring war,” Katz said. “Anyone who enters the forbidden area will be hit.”
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