Skip to main content
CND protest at Fairford
What could happen if Hezbollah fights Israel?
As the prospect of an all-out war between the Lebanon-based militia and the IDF becomes more likely, JOHN WIGHT considers what has changed since the 2006 conflict that Hezbollah considers a victory
Hezbollah march at a funeral on October 10 2023 for two members killed by Israel in Kherbet Selem village, south Lebanon

“The army that conquers makes certain of victory, and then seeks battle.” — Sun Tzu

TENSIONS on the border between Israel and Lebanon in the wake of Hamas’s incursion into southern Israel on October 7 have escalated into clashes between the Israeli military and airforce and Hezbollah, as the former prepares to launch its ground invasion of Gaza. With this in mind, and with the stakes involved taken into account, it seems now to be a question of when, not if, Hezbollah will open up a northern front against Israel.

It was inevitable that this would be the case. Ever since the month-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel of July-August 2006, both have been preparing for the next one, reviewing and upgrading their respective capabilities, tactics and training with precisely what is unfolding now key in their forward planning.

Glaringly absent from the welter of analyses by pro-Israel think tanks across the West on the coming conflict between the Shia resistance movement and the IDF has been the crucial factor separating both. Said crucial factor lies on the level not of preparedness, but psychology. And it is here where Hezbollah holds the advantage.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, speaks during a press conference after his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2025
Lebanon / 19 August 2025
19 August 2025
A worker unloads cargo from a truck carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the offload area of the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza, May 22, 2025
Features / 27 May 2025
27 May 2025

TERRY HANSEN explains how Netanyahu’s boasts of 92,000 aid trucks contradict his own January admission of providing ‘minimal humanitarian aid’ and decades of Israeli documents reveal policies designed to keep Palestinians at ‘minimal subsistence’ levels since 1991

Israeli troops move with APC, armored personnel carrier, near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, May 8, 2025
Features / 15 May 2025
15 May 2025

RAMZY BAROUD on how Israel’s narrative collides with military failure