How Hezbollah Rose Again After Being Declared Utterly Destroyed by Israel
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIRUT — For more than a year, Israel, the United States (US), and even the Lebanese government have spoken as if Hezbollah were permanently paralysed. The facts on the current battlefield tell a different story. Lebanon’s Islamic Resistance Movement has returned to open war with Israel, launching retaliatory attacks in response to the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Hezbollah’s recent performance indicates that the 15-month ceasefire (since November 2024) was not the end of the war. Hezbollah instead appeared to view it as a narrow and urgent “operational window” to rebuild, reorganise, and prepare for what they believe is inevitable.
Middle East Eye reported that on 27 November 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have set back Hezbollah’s capabilities “by several decades”, destroying most of its rockets and eliminating its leadership. In Washington, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Michael Kurilla described Hezbollah as “annihilated”.
Nevertheless, this narrative seems mistaken in distinguishing between “major losses” and “strategic collapse”. According to sources close to Hezbollah’s recovery process, reconstruction began exactly one day after the ceasefire took effect.
The tasks facing Hezbollah are enormous.
On 17 September 2024, Israel detonated hundreds of pagers used by party members, injuring dozens of people, mostly civilians, and revealing shocking intelligence penetration.
That month, devastating airstrikes in Beirut and other areas of the country killed the party’s top military leaders, as well as its long-serving secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel had attacked Hezbollah with a layered surprise campaign aimed at disrupting command, exposing networks, and paralysing their ability to function.
A source described Hezbollah’s leadership as “blind, fragmented, and shattered” when Israeli forces launched a ground invasion in October 2024 following an intense bombing campaign.
“The steadfastness of the fighters on the border who fought to the death gave the party’s remaining top military leaders room to breathe and regroup,” a source told Middle East Eye.