Hezbollah

The Global Sumud (“Perseverance”) Flotilla in the Service of Hamas

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona with the objective of “breaking the blockade on the Gaza Strip,” expected to be the largest since Israel imposed the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2007. Among the participants are Hamas supporters who expressed support for the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (August 25 – September 1, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah infrastructure and eliminated operatives of the organization as part of ongoing operations against Hezbollah's presence in south Lebanon, which violates the ceasefire agreement understanding, and against Hezbollah's efforts to increase its military capabilities and restore its arsenal. The forces attacked underground infrastructures in the Beaufort ridge and eliminated two Hezbollah terrorist operatives; Hezbollah supporters prevented the American special envoy, Thomas Barrack, from visiting two locations in south Lebanon; The UN Security Council approved extending UNIFIL's mandate until the end of 2026, after which the UN force will begin to withdraw and transfer full responsibility to the Lebanese army; The Lebanese government meeting to present the army's plan for Hezbollah's disarmament was postponed to September 5, 2025. A Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper claimed the army said it could not implement the plan because of lack of resources, and the army commander threatened to resign if he were required to spill Lebanese blood. The Lebanese army stated it was acting according to directives to preserve the state's security. Hezbollah secretary general, Na'im Qassem, and other Hezbollah officials reiterated that they had no intention of surrendering the weapons of the "resistance," but Lebanese Parliament speaker Berri said they were prepared to hold a dialogue on the issue. Lebanese government officials expressed frustration over Israel's refusal to present practical steps for the withdrawal of IDF forces from south Lebanon and for stopping its attacks; The PLO and Fatah continued handing over weapons and military equipment from the Lebanese refugee camps, focusing on the three camps in the Tyre area. According to reports, Qatar was trying to mediate between the Lebanese government and Hamas, which still refused to hand over its weapons.
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Is South Syria a Terrorist Threat to Israel? The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, a Test Case

During the Syrian Civil War, which broke out in 2011, the area of south Syria became an arena for the activity of Salafi-jihadist terrorist organizations in addition to Hezbollah and the Iranian Qods Force, which sought to establish another front against Israel based on local operatives and Shi'ite militias; The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 led to the removal of most of the Iranian-backed elements from the Syrian Golan area and to the takeover of south Syria by the rebel forces and the IDF, but new groups began to appear in the area seeking to attack IDF forces stationed in the Syrian Golan and to push them back beyond the border. As a result, the IDF increased its activity to find weapons in south Syria, carried out targeted killings and detained terrorist operatives in the area, some of them belonging to the Qods Force and Hamas; At the beginning of 2025, an organization calling itself the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria – Men of Heroism began publishing statements attacking the Israeli presence in Syrian territory and issuing claims of responsibility for military actions targeting IDF forces in south Syria. Despite doubts about its existence and actual support on the ground, the Resistance Front claimed it was organized and structured, cooperating and allied with other groups whose declared goal was to expel the "occupiers" from Syrian soil; The Resistance Front also claimed it did not depend on other organizations and was not subordinate to other states, but declared its affiliation with the "resistance axis" and complete support for Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations; In ITIC assessment, the Resistance Front may be an attempt by Iran and Hezbollah to reactivate the network they constructed under the Assad regime to attack IDF forces operating in south Syria or inside Israel, and thereby provoke an Israeli military response against the security forces of the al-Shara regime, which would further destabilize Syria. However, despite its prominent presence on social media and the abundance of statements issued in its name, there is still no conclusive evidence that the Resistance Front in fact exists or that it possesses significant military capabilities. Its claims of cooperation and alliances with other organizations in Syria have also not yet materialized.
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Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (August 20-27, 2025)

Senior Iranian officials continued to threaten Israel against renewing the fighting with Iran; The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council rejected the claims that the “Resistance Front” is weakening and made it clear that Iran would continue its support for the “resistance” forces; The Iranian Supreme Leader said that Israel is “the most hated regime in the world” because of its “crimes” in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian foreign minister called for increased pressure on Israel over the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip.; Senior Iranian officials reiterated their opposition to disarming Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shiite militias. The militias in Iraq made it clear to the government that they have no intention of giving up their weapons; The Houthis fired a missile with a cluster warhead at Israel for the first time. The IDF admitted that the interception attempts had failed. No casualties were reported. In response, the IDF attacked Houthi targets in Sana’a. The Houthis reported ten fatalities and made it clear that they would not stop the attacks “in support” of the Palestinians. Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” condemned the IDF attacks and praised the Houthis’ activity against Israel. 
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (August 18 – 25, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah facilities and eliminated terrorist operatives as part of the continued activity against Hezbollah's presence south Lebanon, which is in violation of the ceasefire understandings, and against the organization's efforts to rebuild its military capabilities and restore its arsenal. The forces attacked weapons depots and rocket and missile launchers in south Lebanon and eliminated three Hezbollah terrorist operatives; Hezbollah condemned the return of an Israeli citizen who had been held in Lebanon for a year and accused the government of irresponsibility and negligence; The American special envoy to Lebanon, Thomas Barrack, visited Israel in an effort to reduce IDF attacks in Lebanon. The Israeli prime minister's office stated that Israel was prepared to reduce its presence in south Lebanon if Lebanese security forces disarmed Hezbollah; An IDF-Lebanese army coordination mechanism has reportedly transferred hundreds of coordinates of Hezbollah targets since the ceasefire in November 2024, some based on reports from residents in south Lebanon; In preparation for the UN Security Council discussion on extending the UNIFIL mandate, Lebanese leaders emphasized the need for the UN force to remain. Parliament Speaker Berri wondered why the United States, as a guarantor of the ceasefire agreement, was trying to disrupt UNIFIL's activity; It was reported that the Lebanese army was about to finalize the plan to disarm Hezbollah and would present it to the Lebanese government on September 2, 2025. In an attempt to calm tensions following the government's decisions regarding its weapons monopoly, contacts were renewed between the office of the Lebanese president and Hezbollah representatives, who continued to insist the organization did not recognize the government's decisions and demanded they be rescinded. The Shi'ite mufti of Lebanon called Hezbollah's weapons "the weapons of God" and said no one could take them; Syrian security forces continue to prevent weapons from being smuggled from Syria into Lebanon for Hezbollah; The Palestinian Authority and Fatah in Lebanon announced that the transfer to the Lebanese army of a truck full of weapons in the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut symbolized the beginning of disarming the Palestinians in Lebanon, adding that transfers would continue in additional camps in the coming weeks. Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations said they would not give up their weapons until the "end of the Zionist occupation."
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Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (August 13—20, 2025)

The Iranian General Staff and the IRGC have once again warned Israel and the United States against resuming attacks on Iran. At the same time, the senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran estimated that fighting between Iran and Israel could resume at any moment; Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, visited Beirut and met with senior Lebanese government officials and the secretary-general of Hezbollah. The visit took place amid growing Iranian criticism of the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah; Larijani expressed concern over the situation in Syria, noting that the normalization of relations between Damascus and Tehran depends on the steps that will be taken by the Syrian government; The Houthis’ military spokesman claimed responsibility for two attacks on Ben Gurion Airport using ballistic missiles. The IDF Spokesperson said the missiles were intercepted. The IDF attacked a power plant in the Sana’a area, and the Houthis threatened to retaliate against IDF Navy vessels in Eilat; Amid the interception of another arms shipment to the Houthis, the senior advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader for international affairs, meeting with the Houthi ambassador in Tehran, stressed Iran’s support for the Houthi movement’s activities against Israel and its opposition to disarming Shiite militias in the region; The secretary-general of Kata’ib Hezbollah expressed opposition to disarming the militias in the country and called for supporting them with advanced weapons.
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