Hezbollah armed strength

Hezbollah training exercise in Aaramta, Jezzine, southern Lebanon, May 2023
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Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group,[1][2] has an exceptionally strong military wing, thought to be stronger than the Lebanese Army[3][4] and equivalent to the armed strength of a medium-sized army.[5][a] A hybrid force, the group maintains "robust conventional and unconventional military capabilities",[7] and is generally considered to be the most powerful non-state actor in the world.[8][9][b][7][11]

Estimates vary widely, but as of October 2021, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed his organization has 100,000 trained fighters.[12] In 2017, Janes assessed Hezbollah's strength at more than 20,000+ full-time fighters and approximately 20,000+ reservists.[13][c] They are financed in part by Iran and trained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hezbollah's military budget is $700 million according to 2018 U.S. official estimates.[16]

Hezbollah's primary enemy is Israel, and to a large extent its military strength is based on rockets.[17] Hezbollah's strategy against Israel uses rockets as offensive weaponry combined with light infantry and anti-armor units to defend their firing positions in southern Lebanon.[18] Estimates of Hezbollah's total rocket count range from 40,000[19] to 120,000,[20] which is considerably more than most countries.

Hezbollah possesses limited numbers of anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as thousands of anti-tank missiles.[21] The group does not have manned aircraft, tanks, or armored vehicles in Lebanon, as they cannot counter Israeli air supremacy.[5][22][d] However, Hezbollah maintains armor in neighboring Syria, including T-55 and T-72 tanks. The group has built a large number of weapons caches, tunnels, and bunkers in southern Lebanon, and has a large intelligence apparatus.

Hezbollah's tactical strengths are cover and concealment, direct fire, and preparation of fighting positions, while their weaknesses include maneuver warfare, small arms marksmanship,[18] and air defenses.[23] Though Hezbollah's light infantry and anti-tank squads are well-regarded,[17][24] Hezbollah as a whole is "quantitatively and qualitatively" weaker than the IDF.[24]

Sources generally agree that Hezbollah's strength in conventional warfare compares favorably to state militaries in the Arab world.[25][e] A 2009 review concluded that Hezbollah was "a well-trained, well-armed, highly motivated, and highly evolved war-fighting machine"[f] and "the only Arab or Muslim entity to successfully face the Israelis in combat."[18][28]

Hezbollah typically does not discuss their military operations.[g] Accurate and reliable information on their strengths and capabilities is often non-existent or classified.[30] Hezbollah, Israel and others may have reasons to misstate the movement's capabilities. Estimates for Hezbollah's overall strength and manpower vary widely.[h]

  1. ^ Jamail, Dahr (20 July 2006). "Hezbollah's transformation". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu'llah)". Council on Foreign Relations. 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  3. ^ Barnard, Anne (May 20, 2013). "Hezbollah's Role in Syria War Shakes the Lebanese". a. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  4. ^ Dettmer, Jamie (June 14, 2013). "Hezbollah Upsets The Balance in Lebanon". Voice of America.
  5. ^ a b c "Hezbollah: Not a terror group but a midsized army". Haaretz. August 2016. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference isopod was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Addis, Casey L.; Blanchard, Christopher M. (January 3, 2011). "Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
  8. ^ Blanford, Nicholas (Nov 18, 2014). "Hezbollah: In Syria for the Long Haul". Middle East Institute.
  9. ^ Prothero, Mitchell (March 26, 2012). "Paintballing with Hezbollah". Vice Magazine.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "UN: Hezbollah has increased military strength since 2006 war". Haaretz. October 25, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  12. ^ "Amid civil war fears, Hezbollah chief reveals terror group has 100,000 fighters". Times of Israel. October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference closer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Nerguizian, Aram (June 15, 2015). "The Military Balance in a Shattered Levant" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 9, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Williams, Angela (Jan 2017). "Threat Tactics Report: Hizballah". TRADOC G-2 Intelligence Support Activity (TRISA) / Complex Operational Environment and Threat Integration Directorate (CTID) / US Army.
  16. ^ "Iran's Islamist Proxies in the Middle East | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  17. ^ a b Brecher, Gary (2 July 2015). "The War Nerd: How many soldiers does Hezbollah actually have?". Pando. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  18. ^ a b c Farquhar, S. C. (Ed.). (2009). Back to Basics: A Study of the Second Lebanon War and Operation CAST LEAD. Combat Studies Institute Press, U.S. Army. ISBN 978-0-9823283-3-0
  19. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman (October 7, 2014). "Iran's Rocket and Missile Forces and Strategic Options" (PDF). with the assistance of Scott Modell, Aaron Lin, and Michael Peacock. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  20. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (June 16, 2016). "Analysis: Ten years after war Hezbollah powerful but more stretched than ever". Jerusalem Post.
  21. ^ Eshel, David (2007). "Assessing the Assessing Hezbollah anti-armour tactics and weapons". Defense Update. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  22. ^ "Assorted Vehicles". Military Edge/Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference midi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b Daoud, David (September 2016). "The New Hezbollah: Israel's Next War Will Be A Godawful Mess". The Tower Magazine.
  25. ^ Anderson, Sulome (9 January 2017). "Hezbollah is the real winner of the battle of Aleppo". Newsweek.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Worall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Danielle Pletka, Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC. Congressional Hearing. Assessing the Strength of Hezbollah: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations. United States Senate One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session. June 8, 2010. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111shrg62141/html/CHRG-111shrg62141.htm.
  28. ^ Kusovac, Zoran (2023-10-31). "Analysis: It's a win-win for Hezbollah against Israel so far". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-20. Hezbollah, meaning Party of God, was created in the 1980s, during the civil war in Lebanon, to unite various factions of minority Shia Muslims and provide social services as the state had disintegrated. Encouraged by initial success and by the backing of Iran, Hezbollah developed an armed wing that quickly became a formidable fighting force. So formidable that it can be said to be the only Arab force ever to defeat Israel in battle. In 2000, Hezbollah resistance forced Israel to end its occupation of South Lebanon.
  29. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz (5 December 2012). "Gaza Fight Hints at Hezbollah Arsenal". Wall Street Journal.
  30. ^ Hezbollah: The Dynamics of Recruitment. Major Leroy Bryant Butler. School of Advanced Military Studies. United States Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference jj was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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