Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups across the Middle East are prepared to travel to Lebanon to support Hezbollah in its conflict with Israel if the simmering tensions escalate into a full-scale war, according to officials from Iran-backed factions and analysts.
Daily exchanges of fire have occurred along Lebanon’s border with northern Israel since Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip launched an attack on southern Israel in early October, triggering the current conflict in Gaza.
The situation in the north deteriorated further this month after an Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hezbollah military commander in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah retaliated by launching hundreds of rockets and explosive drones into northern Israel.
Israeli officials have threatened a military offensive in Lebanon if negotiations fail to push Hezbollah away from the border.
Over the past decade, fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, supported by Iran, have collectively fought in Syria’s 13-year conflict, helping to tilt the balance in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Officials from Iran-backed groups say they could reunite to fight against Israel.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated in a speech last Wednesday that militant leaders from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and other countries had previously offered to send tens of thousands of fighters to support Hezbollah, however, he noted that the group already has over 100.000 fighters.
“We told them, thank you, but we are overwhelmed with the numbers we have,” Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah explained that the current conflict involves only a fraction of Hezbollah’s manpower, particularly specialized units launching rockets and drones.
However, this could change if a full-scale war breaks out. Nasrallah hinted at this possibility in a 2017 speech, suggesting that fighters from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan would join such a war.
Officials from Iran-backed Lebanese and Iraqi groups say fighters from across the region would join if war breaks out along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Thousands of such fighters are already deployed in Syria and could easily cross the porous and unmarked border.
Some of these groups have already attacked Israel and its allies. Groups from the so-called “Axis of Resistance” claim they will continue fighting until Israel ends its offensive in Gaza against its ally, Hamas.
“We will fight shoulder to shoulder with Hezbollah” if full-scale war erupts, said an official from an Iran-backed group in Iraq, insisting on anonymity to discuss military matters. He declined to provide further details.
Another Iraqi official said some advisors from Iraq are already in Lebanon.
An official from an Iran-backed Lebanese group, also speaking anonymously, said fighters from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, Afghanistan’s Fatemiyoun, Pakistan’s Zainabiyoun, and Iran-backed rebel groups in Yemen known as the Houthis could come to Lebanon to join the war.
Qassim Qassir, an expert on Hezbollah, agreed that current conflicts are mostly based on high technology such as missile and drone launches, requiring fewer fighters. However, if the war drags on, Hezbollah might need support from outside Lebanon.
“The hint about this might be (a message) that these are cards that could be used,” he said.
Israel is also aware of the potential influx of foreign fighters.
Eran Etzion, a former head of policy planning at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a panel discussion organized by the Washington-based Middle East Institute last Thursday that he sees a “high likelihood” of a “multi-front war.”
He mentioned the possible intervention of the Houthis and Iraqi militias, and a “massive influx of jihadists from places including Afghanistan and Pakistan” into Lebanon and Syrian areas bordering Israel.
Hezbollah officials have stated that they do not seek a full-scale war with Israel but are prepared if it happens.
“We have made the decision that any expansion, no matter how limited, will be met with an expansion that deters such a move and inflicts significant losses on Israel,” said Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, in a speech last week, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
