Hezbollah armed strength
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militia 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, Jane's 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]
Electronic warfare[edit]
Hezbollah has demonstrated a limited ability to tap fibre optic cables, intercept data and hijack Internet and communication connections. In 2006, Hezbollah "reportedly had the assets in place to jam parts of Israel's radar and communications systems."[157]
Hezbollah's communication network continued to function even in the most battered strongholds in southern Lebanon in 2006. After four weeks of war, the network still operated just 500 meters from the Israeli border.[152] Iranian electronic warfare specialists assisted in the development of the network and supplied advanced Iranian equipment.[152] This included "eavesdropping devices, computers and modern communications equipment."[152] Hezbollah has a department responsible for countering Israeli electronic warfare, particularly by discouraging the use of non-secure equipment.[152]
An Israeli source says that in 2006, "Hezbollah's commanders were keenly mindful of Israeli SIGINT capabilities and were scrupulously careful to maintain their own high level of communications security and encryption," which significantly challenged IDF intelligence.[75] Hezbollah also claimed that they tapped into encrypted Israeli radio networks, but this is "almost surely" wrong.[75][314]
Media and propaganda[edit]
For decades, media have played a critical role in Hezbollah's military strategy. Hezbollah takes the role of media very seriously and expends great effort bringing news of its fighting activities to its constituents and to the world at large. Hezbollah's media activities mainly happen through Hezbollah's newspapers, Hezbollah's al-Manar television station, and Hezbollah's Radio Nour.