Hezbollah secretly rebuilding itself with Iran’s help: ‘They're crawling like snakes in the dark’

The Lebanese militant group and Iranian proxy Hezbollah isn’t dead yet. The group is secretly rebuilding itself with the help of Iranian agents and internal reforms, according to a report.

Though the group has agreed to disarm in southern Lebanon, it still has  weapons in other areas of its influence and is secretly rebuilding its structure, reported French newspaper Le Figaro. This comes amid a ceasefire agreement wherein the Lebanese government promised to disarm Hezbollah.

The militant group that once exerted immense influence in the southern part of Lebanon had collapsed after the execution of its leader, Nasrallah, in Beirut.  “For 10 days, no one answered calls. We were like a body in a coma. Only the fighters in the south kept operating, following emergency protocols in case our number one disappeared,”a Hezbollah member named Wafik told Le Figaro.

Days before the assassination of Nasrallah, Israel orchestrated a pager attack that killed the entire top layer of Hezbollah leadership. However, two weeks later, Iranian forces led by Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, took action and within 10 days rebuilt Hezbollah's military structure. But, the group's political leadership remained vacant.

The group's new structure has been shaped with a high level of secrecy and  relies on a "younger and more dynamic generation." "Today, we have a new military structure that is very secretive. The chain of command has been  shortened and no one knows who is responsible for what," Lebanese MP Ali Fayyad told the newspaper.

Hezbollah, despite maintaining weapons depots in the Bekaa Valley and north of the Litani River, decided not to intervene in the event of an attack on Iran. This is while Israeli drones continue to fly over Lebanon's border areas and many villages in the south, including al-Naqoura and Ulema al-Sha'ab, lie in complete ruins.

Despite “more than 1,500 ceasefire violations” and around 300 deaths in Lebanon, Hezbollah has so far not responded militarily to the Israeli attacks. Its action has only  been to pay around $12,000 to rebuild destroyed houses. The financial crisis resulting from the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has also strained Hezbollah’s finances.

The report added that despite its military weakness, Hezbollah still has widespread influence in Lebanon's political structure, including holding 27  seats in parliament and maintaining widespread support among Shiites.
Hezbollah is no longer an immediate threat to Israel, but it is still powerful inside Lebanon,” a Lebanese diplomat told Le Figaro.

A Western intelligence source said of the group's covert activities: "They're crawling like snakes in the dark. They haven't disappeared — they're just waiting for an opportunity."  

Middle East