Hezbollah announced the dispatch of reinforcements to southern Lebanon

Youssef Al Zein, Hezbollah’s communications official, said on May 1 that this force brought reinforcements and weapons to southern Lebanon “in the process of fighting Israel”, referring to the conflict that broke out in early March.

According to Mr. Zein, Hezbollah did not use routes controlled by the Lebanese army during this process. “We believe that the Lebanese army is the country’s armed forces and will not participate in the confrontation with Hezbollah,” he said.

This is a notable new development because the Lebanese army said in January that it had completed the disarming of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, an area near the Israeli border. The Lebanese army implements what was agreed upon in the 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

Mr. Zein said that Israel has advanced deeper into Lebanese territory because Hezbollah units south of the Litani River, about 30 km from the border, have disarmed and their infrastructure here has been destroyed.

Hezbollah officials affirmed that they “were able to restructure their forces” after the latest conflict with Israel, and declared that the group was “prepared for prolonged hostilities”.

When asked about Hezbollah’s recent use of fiber-optic drones to attack the Israeli army, Mr. Zein said this was the group’s tactic. “We are aware of the opponent’s advantages, while exploiting their weaknesses,” he said.

Fighting in Lebanon flared up again on March 2, after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israeli territory in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the Middle East war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with large-scale raids across Lebanon and sent troops into the neighboring country’s south. The conflict has left more than 2,600 people dead in Lebanon.

The IDF is controlling territory about 5-10 km deep inside Lebanese territory, declaring its goal to protect northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, and warning the people of southern Lebanon not to enter this area.

Sporadic fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF continues, despite the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire that took effect on April 16 and has been extended for another 3 weeks.