On Sunday, Hezbollah staged its largest military maneuvers in years in southern Lebanon, unveiling heavy weapons and simulating attacks on Israeli territory. These exercises take place in a context of regional detente, particularly marked by the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation and the return of Syria to the Arab League. If the pro-Iranian formation wished to make a show of force, and to challenge Israel, its approach was perceived as a provocation of the Lebanese authorities and the Arab States. It should be noted that these maneuvers took place six months after the conclusion of an agreement between Lebanon and Israel, delimiting their maritime borders, and ensuring the distribution of offshore gas fields.
On Sunday, around 200 fighters from the pro-Iranian group took part in these live ammunition exercises in Aaramta, about twenty kilometers from the border with Israel, organized to mark the anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.
Dozens of journalists were invited to cover these maneuvers, during which Hezbollah simulated a drone attack against an Israeli town. According to AFP, fighters also staged an attack on Israeli territory in which they blew up vehicles and pulled a body out of one.
Snipers fired live ammunition at metal targets emblazoned with the Star of David, while fighters jumped through flaming hoops. Anti-aircraft weapons, explosives, and multiple rocket launchers were displayed during the drills.
Safieddine
“If some people within the Zionist entity thought of committing a stupidity, we will spray this entity with our precision missiles and with all the weapons at our disposal,” warned Hachem Safieddine, president of the executive council of the Shia party.
Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he threatened: “If you think of extending your aggression to undermine the equations we have drawn with our blood and ability, you will witness dark days you have never seen before.”
Safieddine promised the fighters in the formation that they would keep their arms “until total victory is achieved.” He called on the Lebanese people to unite and invited them to be reassured, “because the Resistance is there to protect Lebanon and its sovereignty.”
Israeli reaction
Israel was quick to react to Hezbollah’s drills. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that, “away from slogans, these maneuvers first challenge the Lebanese government and state and their commitments.”
“As for threats, we are used to them from those whose destructive role has been revealed in the assassination of Lebanese, Syrians, and Arabs and the implementation of Iranian agendas in the Arab world,” he added.
Lebanese reactions
In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s maneuvers provoked reactions from various political leaders.
The leader of the Kataeb party, MP Samy Gemayel, stressed that “Hezbollah’s maneuvers in southern Lebanon constitute a message of defiance to the Lebanese in the first place, and to the Arab summit in the second place, and give an image of the homeland that awaits us if this group consolidates its hegemony over the country.”
In a tweet, Gemayel addressed the Arab and international community saying, “Do you accept the duality of arms, military maneuvers and stranglehold on state decision in your countries?”
For his part, MP Nadim Gemayel (Kataeb) asked, “what is the position of the Lebanese army and government with regard to the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty by the pro-Iranian militia, after its military parades in South Lebanon? “. “We expect a clear and frank official position from the army and government,” he added in a tweet.
For MP Ghayath Yazbeck (Lebanese Forces), “this demonstration is part of the operations planned by Hezbollah to weaken the authority of the Lebanese State and confirm its control of the borders.” It constitutes “a continuation of Hezbollah’s coup against the state, across its borders with Israel, and a confirmation of the mini-state to which the Iranian foreign minister gave his blessing during his recent visit,” he said.
MP Ashraf Rifi said, addressing of the pro-Iranian group: “These demonstrations will not intimidate us, we will face you and will not allow the extension of the infernal tenure for another six years.”
He called on Hezbollah to be wise, adding: “What you have done today contradicts the spirit and the text of the Taëf agreement. Remember that the ink of the Arab summit resolutions has not yet dried.”
