An Israeli newspaper shed light on the plans of the Lebanese Hezbollah in the aftermath of the severe strikes it endured, alongside its decision not to respond to the repeated violations committed by the occupation army against the ceasefire agreement in force since 27 November 2024.
The newspaper Israel Today asked: “What is Hezbollah planning?”, arguing that “the party was at level 100 on 6 October 2023, reached the truce at approximately level 20, and by the end of 2025 its condition has seen slight improvement, to around level 25”.
It continued: “In the first two months after the end of the war, Hezbollah was unable to provide the necessary cadres to lead factions and battalions. The blow to its firepower capabilities was not merely material but also systematic, as the concept of dispersing and concealing missile and rocket systems collapsed. The same applies to the Radwan Force, which will not be able to storm northern settlements due to the new buffer zone and the destruction of its bases in the Shiite villages near the border”.
The newspaper asserted that “therefore, the time since then has been used for reassessment. Among the conclusions is not responding to Israeli strikes”, explaining that “this is interpreted in Israel as weakness on the part of an organisation that deterred Israel for years and operated in Lebanon as if it owned it. This is true, but it is not the whole truth. Hezbollah also refrains from responding because it realises that at the end of every week it is stronger than it was the week before. So why give Israel a pretext to launch a broader attack?”.
It stated that “weakening Hezbollah is only one side of the equation. The other side is strengthening the Lebanese state. Israel is proficient in playing its role, but it will not be able to eliminate the party on its own. The reason for Lebanon’s weakness lies in the shock experienced by the Lebanese”.
It added: “The Israeli slogan ‘never again’ refers to the Holocaust, while its Lebanese counterpart, by contrast, is the civil war that destroyed the state. Hezbollah’s threat of war is sufficient deterrence. What threatens the Lebanese are Kalashnikov rifles, not missiles, missiles that the Israeli army cannot destroy”.
According to the newspaper, “in the year following the ceasefire, despite efforts to prevent it, one billion dollars smuggled from Iran entered Lebanon, all allocated to rebuilding Hezbollah. As for legitimate funds, a quarter of a billion dollars from the West reached the country, but it is frozen in a special fund that will not be released until anti corruption conditions are met”.
It pointed out that “at present, for example, the Lebanese army is only able to operate half of its forces at any given time. Most soldiers receive meagre wages that do not exceed 100 dollars, and they work week after week, in the army and in side jobs, simply to survive. If their salaries were raised, the army’s strength would double overnight. If the United States and its regional allies want to end this story, they must provide financial support”.
