BEIRUT — Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has spent three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities with Israel, after receiving an infusion of cash from Iran, according to Lebanese security personnel briefed on its activities, Reuters reported on Monday.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

The group, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has been dealt severe blows in two wars with Israel since 2024, with thousands of fighters and many of its leaders killed, and much of its arsenal destroyed. Israeli forces now occupy its heartland of villages in southern Lebanon, and political pressure has built up in Beirut for its disarmament, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

It nevertheless remains committed to fighting Israel and has used a lull in hostilities since June to rearm, with a focus on procuring explosives and producing drones that can be flown into Israeli positions, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters. One of the sources, and another close to Hezbollah, said the group had received tens of millions of dollars from Iran to help boost its military capabilities — yaani several crore dollars. That is in addition to around $200 million (yaani 20 crore dollars) that the group received from Tehran to aid displaced families in its Shi'ite heartlands, which Reuters reported earlier this month.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

The group has been restoring command-and-control structures that broke down in key battles, according to one of those sources and three other security officials familiar with the group's operations. The sources said Hezbollah's tactic of operating in small units and rationing anti-tank rockets left some units isolated on fronts including Bint Jbeil and the Ali al-Taher ridge, struggling against Israel's remotely operated systems, including weaponised drones and armed remote-controlled vehicles. The Israeli military said it used remotely operated systems to monitor southern Lebanon and reduce troops' exposure, and declined to comment on the rearming report itself.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

Hezbollah and Washington respond

In response to Reuters' questions, Hezbollah's media office said Israel's occupation of Lebanese land made any resistance to it a legitimate right. It rejected the suggestion that its command-and-control systems had broken down. Hezbollah has not explicitly said whether it would join fresh hostilities, but its media office said it was wary of giving Israeli leaders any justification to escalate in Lebanon, particularly as the group was concerned about its constituents being displaced once more, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington would keep strangling Hezbollah's finances through sanctions and other measures, and a US Treasury spokesperson said Iran was running out of money and ways to move money. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions. The sources said the group had not yet fully prepared its stockpiles or fighting force, and Hezbollah this month acknowledged that explosives seized by Lebanese authorities belonged to it and were intended for use against Israel — specifically for its explosive drones, a Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security source said.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

Hezbollah opened fire in support of Iran on March 2, triggering an Israeli offensive that killed more than 4,000 people and uprooted a quarter of Lebanon's population, Reuters reported. Hostilities largely abated over the summer as an interim Iran-US deal included a Lebanon ceasefire, and full-scale fighting has not resumed despite the deal's collapse, though Israel continues deadly strikes in the south. Hezbollah is on alert for a possible US-Iran escalation that could reignite the Lebanon front.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26