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Hezbollah Vows to Fight On Despite Israel’s Targeted Assassinations

Following the pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18, Israel proceeded to carry out a series of targeted assassinations against several Hezbollah leadership figures.

On Sept. 20, an Israeli airstrike targeted a building in the Jamous area in Beirut’s southern suburb, killing at least 54 and wounding 66, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

Hezbollah announced that 16 among its fighters and leaders were killed that day, including “the great martyred Jihadi leader,” Haj Ibrahim Mohammad Akil, leader of Hezbollah’s infamous Redwan Unit, and commander Ahmad Mahmoud Wehbi, head of the central training unit in Hezbollah. 

Four days later, another air raid targeted the Ghobeiry area in Beirut’s southern suburb. Three stories of a six-story building were destroyed, killing three and wounding 15.

The target of this attack was Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Mohammad Kobeissi, who was the commander of Hezbollah’s Badr Unit from 2001 to 2018, and headed a number of missile power formations of the Islamic Resistance.

Only two days after the second attack, another attack was carried out on the Qaem neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb. Two were killed in this targeted assassination of Hezbollah commander Mohammad Hussein Srour, who headed the Hezbollah Air Force since 2020, and led its military operations as part of the Southern Lebanese support front in the Al-Aqsa Flood battle.

On Sept. 27, Israeli warplanes attacked the southern suburb again, this time in Haret Hreik, with over 80 one-ton US-made bunker-busting bombs. The target was Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. His Jihadi assistant, “the great martyred Jihadi leader” Haj Ali Abdel-Menhem Karaki, was also killed in the attack. 

The last of Hezbollah’s leaders to be killed in the series of Israeli attacks was Sheikh Nabil Yehya Kaouk, the former deputy chief of Hezbollah’s Executive Council until 2018. He also led the Preventative Security Council of the Islamic Resistance until the date of his assassination. 

Israel’s End Game 

Israel’s directed assassinations of Hezbollah’s most prominent leaders has raised several questions amongst the masses. Israel considers that by assassinating the leaders of the Islamic Resistance, it has succeeded in destroying Hezbollah’s command-and-control structure

The Zionist entity has also claimed that its ongoing aggression on Lebanon has succeeded in destroying “a very respectable portion” of Hezbollah’s missiles and rockets. These claims, however, are not backed by any evidence.

In August, Hezbollah’s Military Media released a video titled, “Our Mountains, Our Vaults,” revealing parts of the “Imad [4]” military facility. Al-Mayadeen revealed more details about the compound, including how its secrecy and fortification grant Hezbollah’s missiles protection from any preemptive Israeli strike. 

The facility is equipped with dozens of vehicles for launching heavy-caliber “220” and “330” missiles, as well as other significant missile types.

Furthermore, despite Israeli attempts to wipe out entire military units by assassinating Hezbollah figures, such efforts have proven to be futile. For example, following Israel’s assassinations of the Redwan Unit leadership, Hezbollah’s Military Media released a video titled, “We are al-Redwan.” 

A teaser of the video showcased a Hezbollah fighter with the Redwan Unit badge on his uniform, captioned, “Let him who desires a duel come forth” – indicating that the unit is still well-capable of carrying out its tasks.

In addition, the assassination of more Hezbollah leaders and commanders does not harm the structure of its formations, according to the party itself and Iran’s Supreme leader, Sayyed Ali Khamenei. 

In an open letter published after the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the resistance as a “solid structure.” 

In his final speech, Sayyed Nasrallah had said, “Our structure, all praise be to Allah, is large, strong, and cohesive; our capabilities are great and our preparations are high.” 

Global analysts and experts also claim that despite the severe blows Hezbollah has taken, the party has the ability to reorganize its capabilities and rebuild due to its “decentralized structure,” which operates through autonomous units of varying specialties that function under the main leadership, but do not solely depend on it to function.

Hezbollah’s Ability to Reorganize

During his speech commemorating commander Abu Taleb, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, “The retaliation of the resistance to the assassination in Jouwayah was large and intense, and was carried out by the Nasr Unit, which was led by martyr Haj Abu Taleb, to tell the enemy that the unit whose leader and high-ranking cadre you killed only grew more resilient and determined to fight this enemy, inspired by his spirit and legacy.” 

After Israel’s Sept. 23 attack and its claims of destroying Hezbollah’s capabilities, Hezbollah bombed the Mossad headquarters in the suburbs of Tel Aviv two days later using the “Qader 1” ballistic missile

Since the assassination of Sayyed Nasrallah, the group has successfully targeted Haifa, Tel Aviv, and numerous settlements in the North with large missile salvos, including missiles from the “Falaq” and “Fadi” missile families.

Since then, the Israeli military has been attempting a ground invasion in South Lebanon, which has utterly failed. The Islamic Resistance has succeeded in thwarting every Israeli attempt at crossing the border into Lebanon and inflicting severe losses against the invading troops, explains an officer of the Islamic Resistance Operation Room in detail. 

As the Israeli attempts at a ground invasion in South Lebanon continue, Hezbollah released a statement which stated, “Our resistance and our people paid a heavy and costly price in its leadership, military, and material structures… However, we are confident in the ability of our resistance to thwart any aggression, by God’s will.” 

The Resistance Vows to Fight On

On the anniversary of Hezbollah’s opening of the Southern Lebanese front on Oct. 8, a speech by the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Kassem was streamed, in which he said, “I assure you that the leadership, administration, and management of the party and the resistance remain in order, with great precision, and in accordance with the party’s practices and protocols; we have overcome the painful blows that have befallen us.” 

He added that, “We do not have a single vacant position; all positions have been filled, and Hezbollah is working with full readiness and regularity. Everything that the martyred leaders had, their assistants and substitutes have copies of it.”

The Islamic Resistance Operations Room also issued a statement that evening confirming, “The Islamic Resistance confirms what was issued by the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, his eminence the Mujahid Sheikh Naim Kassem, regarding the readiness of the missile force to target every place in occupied Palestine the leadership of the Resistance decides on through the command and control system that has returned stronger and more solid than it was.”

As military experts continue to weigh in on the ongoing Israeli aggressions and targeted assassinations in Lebanon, one reality remains clear: the Islamic Resistance continues to operate through its military capabilities and decentralized structure despite facing heavy losses.

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Author

  • Aya N.

    Based in South Lebanon, Aya is interested in resistance groups in West Asia and the history and geopolitics of the region.

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