Iran is pushing Hezbollah to be more active in war with Israel — Center for Middle East Studies

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

"Everyone says about Hezbollah (Lebanese Shiite paramilitary Islamist organization and political party - ed.) that it is a puppet of Iran. But today it is impossible to say that Hezbollah has opened a full-fledged second front. It is now following its usual rule - a zero-sum game. That is, you shoot - we shoot, you kill someone - we kill someone, you destroy a house - we destroy a house," commented the Deputy Director of the Center for Middle East Studies.

According to him, Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces had an unspoken rule for some time, where they would warn each other if they were about to shoot at a base or engage in hostile actions. If the Israelis observed any threatening movements, and launched shots that did not cause casualties, Hezbollah would return fire in open areas to avoid harming civilians.

"Hezbollah is under pressure from Iran to become more actively involved in the war. The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Nasrallah, makes all sorts of terrible speeches, but I don't see any desire to fight there. That is why it seems that the Iranians are beginning to move their other puppets to Syria and, probably, to southern Lebanon. One of them is a group recruited from the Shiites of Afghanistan, the Hazaras. And another similar group is made up of Shiites in Pakistan. Iran needs this to fight with someone else's hands and to put Nasrallah in a disadvantageous situation, showing that it is not engaged in fighting," explained Serhiy Danilov.

The international expert added that the situation in Lebanon itself is terrible, the country will not survive the war. The Lebanese government has stated that it does not want a war and asks not to start one, but it does not control Hezbollah.

"The situation is on the brink, but it hasn't crossed it yet," Danilov summarized.

Events in Israel: latest updates

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched a massive air and land attack on the state of Israel in several places. The head of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, said that his militants had launched the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. According to him, these actions are intended to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Palestinians launched 2,000 to 3,000 missiles at Israel and simultaneously seized 7 communities in the south.

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the mobilization of reservists and the launch of the Iron Swords counterterrorism operation. For the first time in 50 years, the government introduced martial law in the country. 

The IDF actively used aviation to strike Palestinian command posts. It has also begun clearing Hamas-occupied communities.

In addition, there is a great threat that the Shiite Hezbollah could attack Israel from the north, as its main partner and supplier, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), has called on jihadists to "liberate Jerusalem."

On the morning of October 8, the Saudi television channel Al Arabiya published the losses of both Palestinians and Israelis during the first day of the renewed military conflict. According to the channel, Israel lost 300 people killed and at least 1,600 wounded. The number of casualties from the Palestinian-populated Gaza Strip is 232 killed and 1,627 wounded. 

On October 8, Israeli troops claimed that Lebanon had attacked their territory, so the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked in response. In particular, Israeli aviation struck a complex belonging to the head of Hamas' intelligence.

Militants of the Lebanese military-political organization Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions on the border with the disputed Golan Heights and supported Hamas in its operation against Israel.

Due to the situation in the Middle East, the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting. However, no action or decisions were taken after it. At the same time, the UK government stated that it would support Israel in its fight against terrorists and was ready to provide it with all necessary assistance.

On the afternoon of October 9, the Israeli army regained control of all areas on the border with the Gaza Strip. At this, it is possible that there are still Hamas militants on Israeli territory.

At night and during the day on the same day, the Israeli armed forces attacked the Gaza Strip. The main targets were command posts, homes of commanders, militants and ordinary soldiers of the Hamas terrorist organization. The Israeli Ministry of Defense ordered the military to put the Gaza Strip under blockade.

A number of countries have condemned the terrorist attack by Hamas militants and expressed support for Israel in its defense against aggression. Among them are the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Hungary, Norway, Cyprus, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina, Australia, and the European Union.