On Monday, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon killed 492 people, including 35 children, in the deadliest attack on the country in over two decades. The incident came just days after thousands of pagers still in use in the country exploded, killing at least 32 people and injuring many others. Lebanon claimed Israel was behind these blasts as well.
Tensions between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah have escalated to unprecedented levels since Hamas’ attack on October 7 last year. Although Hezbollah said it had nothing to do with the attack on southern Israel, it has continued to support the militant group in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and displaced almost the entire population.
Shadow War
The shadow war between Israeli intelligence agencies and Hezbollah dates back more than 40 years. In the early 1980s, Israel invaded Lebanon to overthrow the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Although Israel scored initial victories by forcing the PLO to withdraw from Beirut, a disastrous incident in November 1982 marked the beginning of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.
In one of the first major blasts, a massive explosion destroyed the headquarters of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence service, in the city of Tyre, killing 91 people. It turned out that this was one of the first suicide car bombings, carried out by militant Shia Islamists who later formed Hezbollah.
Hezbollah
Founded in 1983 with Iranian support, Hezbollah soon became one of Israel’s most formidable enemies. Adept at both guerrilla warfare and covert operations, the organization continued its efforts to destabilize Israeli targets both within and outside Lebanon. During the 1980s and 1990s, Hezbollah carried out numerous attacks, including the bombing of American and French military barracks in Beirut.
Hezbollah managed to finance its operations through its vast network of supporters, including in South America, which emerged as a key aspect of the shadow war. The organization’s involvement in both legal and illegal activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering enabled it to garner significant resources, which Israel struggled to disrupt.
A prime example of Hezbollah’s global reach occurred in the early 1990s, when, after Israeli forces assassinated Hezbollah leader Abbas al-Musawi, the terrorist group retaliated by bombing the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing more than 100 people.
Espionage Ops
However, Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, also remained ruthless. The Mossad targeted Hezbollah and Iranian operatives involved in planning attacks against Israel in several high-profile assassinations.
Hezbollah’s military commander Imad Mughniyeh was a particular target of Israeli intelligence agencies. Mughniyeh is believed to have masterminded several high-profile attacks, including the 1983 bombings in Lebanon, but he remained out of reach for decades. It was not until 2008 that the Israeli military, in collaboration with the CIA, succeeded in killing Mughniyeh with a car bomb in Damascus.
Hezbollah retaliated with several attempts to target Israeli embassies and civilians, including a suicide bus bombing in Bulgaria in 2012 that killed five Israelis.
This year in July 2024, Israel successfully eliminated two high-ranking Hezbollah officials, Fuad Shukr and Ibrahim Aqeel. They were involved in attacks on Israeli forces in Lebanon in the 1980s.
Shadow warfare has not been limited to conventional or guerrilla tactics. One of the most infamous attacks came in the form of the Stuxnet computer virus, a joint Israeli-American campaign that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2010. This cyberattack, which destroyed centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz facility, was the first known example of a cyber operation causing physical damage.
Recently, Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in a new type of high-tech warfare. In September 2024, Hezbollah admitted that the group had suffered serious losses when pagers and walkie-talkies were blown up. The operations were based on Mossad’s traces, although Israel has not officially claimed responsibility.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called Israel’s recent actions a “declaration of war.”
