One of the big surprises of the war now engulfing the Middle East has been the intensity of attacks by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on neighboring Israel after it held its fire for more than a year.
A nominal cease-fire in late 2024 ended the last Israeli-Hezbollah war, but Israel kept up near-daily strikes on Lebanon in an effort to dismantle the Iran-backed militia and diminish its ability to operate. When Hezbollah did not retaliate, many assumed that was because it had been weakened and much of its arsenal had been destroyed.
Hezbollah has defied that notion by managing to launch consistent rocket barrages into Israel for more than a month now. Officials and experts say the attacks demonstrate that Hezbollah has adapted to its new circumstances, becoming more agile, operating in smaller units and mounting surprise assaults.
The United States and Israel said this past week that Lebanon was not in the cease-fire agreement that was announced with Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue hitting Hezbollah even as it opens talks with the Lebanese government on how to disarm the militant group.
The war has also made clear that Hezbollah retained a sizable arsenal of rockets, missiles and drones and carried on producing weapons locally. Hezbollah’s operations suggest that it saw the 15-month cease-fire not as an end to its conflict with Israel, but as a crucial window to prepare for another round of fighting, according to Israeli, Western and Arab officials and analysts who spoke to The New York Times.
“There was a very wrong widespread assumption that Hezbollah was finished,” said Heiko Wimmen, a Lebanon expert at the research organization International Crisis Group. “But it now appears that was not the case. They did prepare. They did rebuild. They did regroup.”
