From the very beginning, the war between Israel and Hamas has not been confined to just one front. The Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Islamist militant organisation Hezbollah started attacking Israel on 8 October – one day after Hamas’s deadly assault. In the weeks since, Iranian militias in Syria and Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked Israel with missiles and drones, while Iranian-backed forces in Iraq have targeted American troops. For now, Gaza is at the heart of the war – but this may soon change.
Israel has been fighting Hezbollah since the First Lebanon war ended in 1985. During the 15 years the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) controlled the ‘security zone’, extending 40 kilometres (25 miles) deep into Lebanon from the border between the two countries to the Litani River, Israeli and Hezbollah forces clashed regularly.
Hezbollah is under pressure from Hamas to increase the intensity of its attacks
Even as a relatively small group with limited power, Hezbollah posed a challenge for the IDF.
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