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BEIRUT – When Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia announced last week that its leader Hassan Nasrallah would give his first public speech since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, much of the region held its breath.
Would Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Arab world’s most powerful paramilitary force, continue its limited exchanges of fire with Israel or plunge wholeheartedly into war? In Lebanon, the streets emptied as people sat in front of their screens and watched, ready to analyze his words along with decision-makers in Israel and across the Middle East.
Hezbollah has been engaged in a firefight with Israeli troops along the border since the day after Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 triggered a war in the Gaza Strip. Both sides have suffered casualties, but there are fears the conflict will escalate and develop into a regional battle.
Nasrallah nodded to those concerns in his speech on Friday. “Some say I will announce that we have entered the battle,” he said. “We already entered the battle on October 8th.”
But he did not say Hezbollah would join the fight more strongly.
Here’s a look at why Hezbollah and its leader are key players in the Israel-Hamas war.
The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah is one of several Iranian-backed groups and governments in the region known as the Axis of Resistance.
Founded in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War, Hezbollah initially aimed to end the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which it finally achieved in 2000. It was the first group that Iran invested in to export its brand of political Islamism.
In its early days, the group also carried out attacks on US targets, leading Washington to designate it a terrorist organization.
“Iran’s support has helped Hezbollah consolidate its position as Lebanon’s most powerful political actor, as well as the best-equipped Iranian-backed military actor in the entire Middle East,” said Lina Khatib, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute in London The Associated Press.
After Hezbollah fighters ambushed an Israeli patrol and took two Israeli soldiers hostage in 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought a months-long war that ended in a draw – but not before Israeli bombings caused widespread destruction in southern Lebanon.
Back then, Israel had a similar goal to its current war with Hamas: the destruction of Hezbollah. Instead, the group emerged stronger – not just a fighting force, but also a major political party in Lebanon.
However, domestic opponents criticized Hezbollah for maintaining its arsenal and dominating the government. Its reputation also suffered when it briefly seized part of Beirut in May 2008 after the Lebanese government took action against its private telecommunications network.
Nasrallah was born in 1960 into a poor Shiite family in the Beirut suburb of Bourj Hammoud and later expelled to southern Lebanon. He studied theology and joined the Amal Movement, a Shiite political and paramilitary organization, before becoming one of the founders of Hezbollah.
He became leader of Hezbollah in 1992 after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli attack. Nasrallah is now considered one of the most powerful political figures in Lebanon.
Idolized by many for leading Israel’s withdrawal from the south and spearheading the 2006 war, his image appears on billboards and on gadgets in souvenir shops in Lebanon, Syria and other countries in the Arab world. But he also faces resistance from the Lebanese, who accuse him of linking their country’s fate to Iran.
Nasrallah is also seen as pragmatic and capable of political compromise.
He has lived in secret for years, fearing an Israeli assassination attempt, and gives his speeches in unknown locations.
Hezbollah is the Arab world’s most significant paramilitary force, with a robust internal structure and a sizable arsenal. Israel estimates it has an arsenal of 150,000 precision-guided missiles.
In recent years, Hezbollah has sent troops to Syria to help Iranian ally President Bashar al-Assad fight armed opposition groups. It also supported the growth of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.
Khatib compared Hezbollah to a “big brother” of young Iranian-backed groups that “do not have the same level of infrastructure or discipline.”
While Hezbollah is tied to Iran by doctrine, its relationship with Hamas is based on pragmatism.
The Palestinian militant group was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. Political and financial support from Iran and Syria only increased in 2006.
A split arose between Hamas and the Iranian-backed axis over the Syrian Civil War, in which Hamas for a time supported Syria’s predominantly Sunni opposition fighters.
Despite differences over Syria, “relations have improved rapidly in the last five years,” said Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah.
Although there were many senior Hamas officials living in Qatar and Turkey who supported the Syrian opposition, the group’s return to the Iranian fold put it in a difficult situation.
Some Hamas officials, including their deputy Saleh al-Arouri, have since moved to Lebanon, where they enjoy the protection of Hezbollah and are present in Lebanon’s numerous Palestinian refugee camps.
For Hezbollah, a full entry into the war between Israel and Hamas would risk drawing Lebanon – beset by economic catastrophe and domestic political tensions – into a conflict it can ill afford, thereby undermining resistance to inflame their own country against the group.
But waiting while Israeli troops take control of the Gaza Strip could threaten Hezbollah’s credibility, and a Hamas defeat would be a blow to Iran.
Hezbollah’s constant pressure on Israel’s northern border shows its support for Hamas and leaves open the danger of a broader intervention.
Qassir interpreted the message behind Nasrallah’s speech as follows: “If you don’t want the regional war to expand, then the war (in Gaza) must stop.”
But it is unclear how long Hezbollah can maintain this delicate balancing act, as Israel appears determined to crush Hamas and the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passes 10,000.
“If there is a complete collapse in Gaza and things reach a point where they need to be fully involved, then they are ready,” Qassir said.