Hezbollah speaks, Hamas miscalcuated – and how Israel has united in the face of terror

Nov 7, 2023 by Jill

by Limor Simhony Philpott, Conservative Home:

When Hassan Nasrallah said last week that the war is “100 per-cent Palestinian, not regional,” this would not have pleased Hamas. Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed, Lebanon-based militant organisation Hezbollah, is reluctant to widen the organisation’s involvement in the war between Israel and Hamas.

When Hamas launched their attack, which killed over 1,400 Israelis, it knew that Israel will retaliate. Hamas believed that several ‘safety nets’ might limit Israel’s response to the attack. Unfortunately for Hamas, so far their assumptions have been proven wrong.

Hamas hoped that a heavy-handed Israeli military action would prompt the involvement of other regional actors, and force the Israeli Defence forces (IDF) to reallocated resources away from Gaza – Hezbollah being the main force able to distract Israel.

It has spent the years since second Lebanon war in 2006 building a considerable force that includes roughly 20,000 fighters and a vast arsenal of weapons including missile and drones. Its involvement in the Syrian civil war has boosted its fighters’ experience. Hezbollah is a formidable enemy that Israel has fought for 40 years with varying levels of success.

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