Key Points
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah not to start a war as Israel’s military focuses on Gaza.
- Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers have both fired missiles and exchanged gunfire across the Lebanon-Israel border.
- Hezbollah’s next move is dependent on Iran, experts told SBS News.
Israeli troops have spent the weekend preparing to move into the Gaza Strip in pursuit of Hamas militants, but clashes at the country’s northern border have prompted fears of a second war front.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters launched several attacks on Israeli army posts on Sunday and Israel retaliated with strikes into Lebanon, in the biggest escalation of tensions in 17 years.
The skirmishes between the two have been condemned by the United States and led , amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread.
“I am now saying to Australians if you are in Lebanon, you should consider whether your need to remain there is essential,” Wong said on Sunday.
“If you wish to leave, you should consider the first available option.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has told Lebanese militant group Hezbollah not to start a war on a second front, threatening the “destruction of Lebanon” if it did.
What is Hezbollah?
The Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group was formed in 1982.
It was created following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon that year and had the backing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In 2021 the group had over 100,000 well-trained soldiers, according to Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallan.
Hezbollah last fought Israeli soldiers in 2006, launching rockets into northern Israel and engaging Israel Defence Forces soldiers in guerrilla warfare.
The war killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 158 Israelis, predominantly soldiers.
How is Hezbollah linked to Hamas?
Hezbollah and Hamas are both backed by Iran. Hezbollah has its roots in the Shia branch of Islam, which is predominant in Iran, while Hamas is a mainly Sunni Muslim group.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, gaining power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.
Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.
Some countries list only its military wing as a terrorist group.
Dr Eyal Mayroz is a senior lecturer in peace and conflict studies at the University of Sydney. He said Iran considers its relationship with Hezbollah more important, partially due to its military capabilities.
“Hezbollah is more powerful than Hamas and Iran holds Hezbollah more dearly,” he said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Source: AAP
“Hezbollah is much more important for Iran than Hamas is. So whether Iran is willing to sacrifice Hamas without opening a regional war or not, is on everyone’s mind.”
He also stressed that Hezbollah has to juggle its allegiance to Iran with the impact of war on Lebanon’s people.
“The country is just falling apart. And for the Lebanese to have a war with Israel would be not only devastating, but also untenable.”
Mayroz said what we’re seeing on Israel’s northern border is a “tap dance”, as Hezbollah shows its support for Hamas and Israel displays it’s not “taking shit”, while avoiding full-scale war.
“They’re trying to play the game of solidarity but without getting, at least at this stage, without getting themselves into a full-scale war,” he said.
Iran has warned ‘other fronts will be opened’
Iran has spoken of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel that a regional conflict could erupt if fighting with Hamas in Gaza continued.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has warned other war fronts with Israel are possible amid fighting on the Lebanon-Israeli border. Source: EPA / Abbas Salman
“If the measures aimed at immediately stopping the Israeli attacks that are killing children in the Gaza Strip end in a deadlock, it is highly probable that many other fronts will be opened,” he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
“This option is not ruled out and this is becoming increasingly more probable.”
Research scholar at Australian National University’s Center for Arab and Islamic Studies Ian Palmeter said what Hezbollah decides to do next will rely on Iran’s judgement.
“It really depends on Iran. At this stage, Hezbollah has become involved only marginally,” he told SBS News.
“It has sent a small number of rockets into Northern Israel, but it has a huge arsenal. It’s believed to have between 120,000 and 150,000 rockets. But Hezbollah is Iran’s creature.”
He said Iran uses Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal to guarantee its own security and would be careful deploying it out of concern for retaliation from Israel or the United States.
United States deploys aircraft carriers
The United States has responded to the conflict in the Middle East by bolstering its firepower in the region, to deter Iran from getting involved.
The Pentagon has deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, a region that already hosts a number of US military ships, planes and troops.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “when it comes to Israel security, we have Israel’s back”.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Iran-backed Hamas – which controls the Gaza Strip – after its fighters stormed Israeli towns nine days ago.
Hamas killed 1,300 people and seized hostages in the worst attack on civilians in the country’s history.
In response, Israeli jets and artillery have subjected Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen and putting the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under total siege.
Gaza authorities say more than 2,300 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. Rescue workers have searched desperately for survivors of nighttime air raids.
