Amid costly war with Israel, Hezbollah faces fire from its own supporters
With Hezbollah and Israel locked in another punishing war, disappointment and anger echo increasingly across Lebanon’s Shiite community which has borne the brunt of thousands of Israeli airstrikes in songly across Lebanon’s Shiite community which has borne the brunt of thousands of Israeli airstrikes in south and east Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut
Weeks of an intensely destructive Israeli military campaign which has included, 1. the killing of Hezbollah’s revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah 2. and much of the Iran-backed Shiite militia’s senior leadership 3. has displaced 1.3 million Lebanese 4. Across the south, near the border with Israel, entire villages have been destroyed
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Hezbollah supporters are tired and far less forgiving of what they perceive to be the organization’s, 1. mistakes 2. and battlefield shortcomings
One such longtime supporter, a 30-something businessman in Beirut who gives the name Hussein, had his loyalty tested before in the last all-out Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006
Then, an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed 16 members of his family, including five children
2006 destructive Hezbollah-Israel conflict
This conflict was widely seen to have been triggered by Hezbollah’s own miscalculation back then: that a cross-border kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldiers would yield only a limited Israeli response
And yet, until now, Hussein’s personal loss so many years ago, did not detract from his support for Hezbollah In fact, Hussein says,
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it increased his backing for Hezbollah and its armed “resistance” against Israel as a way to achieve revenge
But fast-forward 18 years and Hussein, along with many traditional Hezbollah supporters, today expresses doubts about Hezbollah and its decisions
This time the Israeli onslaught was sparked by more than a year of Hezbollah rocket attacks against northern Israel, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, its Palestinian ally in the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance”
Hussein says,
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“They are saying they have surprises but we are waiting to see of Hezbollah’s continued promises of fighting prowess”
“We expected much, much more than what is happening now"
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"Like Sayyed Nasrallah said: one building destroyed in Dahiyeh [Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold] will be met with many buildings destroyed in Tel Aviv”
“Unfortunately until now, no buildings have been destroyed in Tel Aviv which is surprising and disappointing us”
Instead, entire apartment blocks have been flattened by Israel in Dahiyeh as it targets Hezbollah leadership and infrastructure Hussein’s shop remains intact, despite airstrikes two streets away
